Talquin Electric Cooperative, Inc., located in Quincy, Florida, has been awarded $8.1 million in funding to develop a smarter energy grid. The U.S. Department of Energy selected Talquin Electric Cooperative as one of 100 companies to receive federal stimulus funds as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The stimulus funds will be used to install a smart meter network system for 56,000 residential and commercial customers in a mainly rural, four-county service area in North Florida. Also integrate an outage management system and geographic information as part of the Smart Grid for which efforts began in 2010.
Targeted Benefits:
--Reduced Meter Reading Costs
--Reduced Operating and Maintenance Costs
--Increased Electric Service Reliability
--Reduced Electricity Costs for Customers
--Reduced Costs from Distribution Line Losses, Equipment Failures, and Theft
--Deferred Investment in Distribution Capacity Expansion
--Reduced Truck Fleet Fuel Usage
--Reduced Greenhouse Gas and Criteria Pollutant Emissions
