• Kansas City Power & Light wants to use a grid modernization project as a way to revitalize the core area of Kansas City, Mo.
• It hopes its investment will encourage a sustainable local economy.
• The $50 million effort is a Smart Grid Regional Demonstration Project that is getting  $23.9 million from a stimulus grant, so the project has to be replicable in other cities.

"From a technical standpoint, this is a true, end-to-end smart grid solution," Bill Menge, director of smart grid, told Intelligent Utility. "Almost anything you'd say, `Hey, that's smart grid,' is part of our demonstration project."