Obama to Announce Billions in Energy-Efficiency Grants

By Michael A. Fletcher MIAMI--President Obama plans to unveil Tuesday $3.4 billion in grants for "smart meters," updated transformers, and other devices that will allow consumers, cities, utilities and other businesses to become more efficient users and producers of energy. The grants, which administration officials said leveraged another $4.7 billion in private investment, will pay for upgrades to the nation's outdated electric grid and will make it easier to integrate solar and wind and other forms of renewable energy. The administration says money spent on upgrading the nation's energy distribution system will create tens of thousands of new jobs for factory workers, installers, system designers and others, while giving customers and utilities more control over how they use and pay for energy. The grants were funded in the $787 billion economic stimulus package enacted in February. Obama will announce the recipients as he visits what is touted as the nation's