COBB COUNTY - Government and business leaders will get a sneak peak at GE's new Smart Grid Technology Center of Excellence on Powers Ferry Road this morning.

But what exactly is that?

Luke Clemente, general manager of metering and sensing systems for GE Digital Energy, explained that the Cobb County facility will house the global headquarters of GE's Digital Energy business and will include a smart grid engineering laboratory.

Policymakers and business leaders are pushing to update the country's power infrastructure, known as "the grid," to create what has been dubbed the Smart Grid, which will provide better management of power, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. GE and other companies are creating technologies that are helping in the transformation.

Smart Grid technologies provide information to customers that allow them to determine their peak cost hours and cut their use of electricity accordingly, Clemente said.

"The laboratory will work to develop and test new Smart Grid technologies that can help improve the efficiency, reliability and environmental impact of energy transmission, distribution and consumption - from integrating more renewable energy sources, like wind and solar, to lowering the peak power demand that lowers the need for new power plants, to improving the ways consumers manage their power usage," he said.

Smart meters are one component of Smart Grid technology. Clemente said utility companies install the meters. Homeowners cannot purchase them. Essentially, smart meters allow customers to better monitor their power usage, especially during peak hours, when energy costs the most.

GE is also making small touch-screen panels that "wirelessly connect to a household's smart meter, appliances and thermostats ... to gather information, manage usage and deliver the real-time knowledge that empowers smarter energy choices," according to the company.

Bob Lewis, general manager of Marietta Power & Water, said his company is hoping to launch a system with smart meters by either 2011 or 2012. Lewis said MP&W will use a company called Itron to provide the technology. He said the company's first step in utilizing smart grid technology - installing fiber optics into its systems - will cost more than $3 million.

"The smart grid technology provides a two-way service from the utility to the customer, whereas right now it's mainly one-way - the utility company provides the energy, the customer uses and pays for the energy," Lewis said. "Energy costs are going to rise, so even though utility companies are footing the bill for the upgrades, you have to consider what your customers want, the level of technology you want to utilize, and the value that you are providing to your customers."

Lewis added that GE is clearly one of the industry leaders in smart grid technology, and with the support of President Barack Obama's administration, companies are looking for ways to save energy and costs to customers. Last October, for example, Cobb Electric Membership Corporation announced it would receive $16.89 million in stimulus funding from the Obama administration to install smart meters.

Clemente said the company is looking forward to educating residents about the possibilities that lie within smart grid technology with its new headquarters, as well as utilizing the technologically advanced workforce that exists in the metro Atlanta area. The company currently houses 2,500 GE Energy employees on Wildwood Parkway in Cobb, and will add more than 400 new jobs with its new Smart Grid Center of Excellence at Powers Ferry Road, Clemente said. Over half of the 400 employees are expected to be engineers, Clemente said, but the center will also house sales and marketing executives.

The company is renovating an existing building for the center, Clemente said.

"We have quickly outgrown our current facility because we've been hiring throughout year, so that is what necessitated us to make a decision on where we wanted to grow," Clemente said. "We were small enough at the outset that we had the flexibility of choosing from many locations and after looking at several locations, we settled on this area because state and local governments have always been very supportive and big on promoting additional investments in their community. Plus, we considered the caliber of the local workforce and the educational level of the people we would need to be hiring. Here, there are several talented, skilled workers with advanced education, such as engineers, and we are looking at hiring that type of talent."

Most jobs will be high-paying jobs, Clemente said. Cobb County Economic Development Director Michael Hughes said most would be in the $90,000 per year range.

Speakers at today's' 10 a.m. gathering will include Clemente, Governor Sonny Perdue and Senator Saxby Chambliss. Georgia Institute of Technology President Bud Peterson and Cobb commissioners will also be in attendance.