EPB will receive $111 million in federal stimulus funding to help deploy smart meters throughout its service territory, the U.S. Department of Energy announced today.

The Chattanooga electric utility was among 400 utilities across the country that will share in $3.4 billion allocated to help build a smart electric grid.

Smart meters allow consumers and utilities to better control power usage and distribution to save energy.

EPB is spending $226.7 million to expand its fiber optic network to all of its 170,000 electricity customers, and the grant will help pay for both fiber optics and smart meters to be installed at homes and businesses throughout Chattanooga.

Across the Tennessee Valley, Knoxville Utilities Board was awarded nearly $3.6 million and Memphis Light, Gas and Water will receive nearly $5.1 million in federal grants through the new initiative.

“These smart meters will allow consumers to view their electricity usage in real-time and take advantage of reduced utility prices when there is less demand on the system,” the White House said in a press release today.

Read tomorrow’s Times Free Press for more details.