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by Rebecca Cole
General Electric is teaming up with Cisco Systems, Silver Spring Networks and a Florida electricity utility, Florida Power and Light, to develop a smart grid in Miami.
Calling it "the largest application of its kind," GE chief Jeffrey Immelt hit the airwaves at broadcast subsidiaries NBC, MSNBC and CNBC this morning to trumpet the deal and the 1,000 "green collar" jobs the project is expected to create.
When asked by MSNBC's "Morning Joe" host Joe Scarborough if the Miami project is economically feasible or if it is merely "PR that makes everybody feel good but really doesn't run" Immelt said, "We do think it is ready right now. And we think these are the types of projects we need to be doing right now."
Florida Power and Light CEO Lewis Hay III agreed. "We're absolutely convinced this technology is proven, it works," he told co-host Mika Brzezinski. "We've already tested this on over 100,000 of our customer accounts."
Immelt pointed to the $20 billion in revenue and the 50,000 GE and supplier jobs created since 2002 by the company's "Ecomagination" initiative. "The notion that green tech creates jobs, it's been proven, it's been proven inside GE."
GE will provide one million smart meters to kick off the project, which, if successful, will then be rolled out to the utility's 4.5 million customers in greater Miami. The initial cost for the project is estimated at $200 million while phase two is slated to cost another $500 million.
The companies are looking to $4.5 billion in federal stimulus funding to provide half of the project's funding.
The project would help consumers monitor and manage their electricity usage via an online website.
Immelt's announcement, coinciding with NBC's "Green Your Routine" week, doesn't appear to be boosting the company's share price, which has tumbled 36 percent in the past 12 months. It was down about a point this morning, trading at $11.39 a share.
GE's Energy Infrastructure unit did post a 19 percent rise in profit in the first quarter of 2009, a lone bright spot for the giant conglomerate amid falling profits and the slashing of two notches off its Triple-A rating.
Comments
The way you ran GE into the ground, leaves me to believe the stockholders should be calling for your head!.
Posted by: Paul | April 20, 2009 1:47 PM
It's easy to "create" "ecojobs"--so long as the federal government will give you $4.5 billion of somebody else's money.
Do some 4th grade math on the GE proposal: $4.5 billion in tax money divided by 1,000 new jobs equals $4.5 million in taxes per job--surely the most insanely expensive "job creation" program in history.
In fact, the program is so expensive that the program will destroy, through new taxes, more jobs than it creates!
Posted by: William Allen White | April 20, 2009 3:17 PM
Just call the stimulus money GE will receive as a payback for all the fawning BO rec'd Tinglely, Overbite, and Madcow
Posted by: Terry | April 20, 2009 7:42 PM
Wow someone isnt happy.
I think you are getting more than just jobs for that $4.5 billion. Also they are only hoping for $350 million the way I read it.
Anyhow if it works and it can be redesigned to not be taxpayer subsidized it will be a great day. If it doesnt work we will have one more way it doesnt work on our list.
Posted by: DrewK | April 25, 2009 8:58 AM