Invest in our energy grid now!

Recently there have been a number of high profile calls for the new Obama administration to spend some of the economic stimulus package on improving the electric transmission grid. Thomas Friedman's book Hot, Flat, and Crowded discussed the need to invest in Energy Technology (ET) and that it is imperative that the United States be a leader in this investment.

On Tuesday, Samuel J. Palmisano (CEO: IBM) commented in the Wall Street Journal that our power grids are due for a smart upgrade. We can incorporate many of the technologies that have made the Internet such a world wide success in the a new energy grid and thereby create millions of jobs and open vast areas of the country for wind power development.

Finally, Alexander Mishkin writes in on Forbes.com that this investment will have a significant return on investment for the US Government. These improvements in the power grid can be sold to private companies once they have been installed.

I hope that President Elect Obama will take these comments to heart and will see the wisdom to authorize this type of investment. I believe that this type if investment is going to be important not only in the short term by creating jobs but allowing us to expand the production of renewable energy which will be vital for the long term success of our nation.