Smart Grid in Europe, but U.S. "Leads the Way"

RenewableEnergyWorld.com has a post about Smart Grids in Europe and mentions the Xcel Energy Smart Grid City project:

Excerpt from April 9, 2008, Focus on European Smart Grids, by Michael Setters, Smart Electric News: "According to Jose Antonio Vanderhorst-Silverio, a leading voice in the Electricity industry, "It is clear that dramatic change is coming in the future for the electric utility industry...the way energy is generated, delivered and consumed [is] substantially changing the whole business model. This change is coming to a piece of the industry that hasn't been known for radical change over its 120 plus year history... Implementation of the Smart Grid will require a complete rethinking of the utility business model and business processes."
The Smart Electric News goes on to note that the U.S. is "leading the charge" for Smart Grid:
"But it's in the U.S. that the most impressive initiative is taking place. A new project has been announced to deliver the first ever Smart Grid City that will be a "first step toward building the grid of the future," according to Dick Kelly, Xcel Energy chairman, president and CEO. "In Boulder, we'll collaborate with others to integrate all aspects of our smart grid vision and evaluate the benefits. The work we're doing will benefit not only Boulder, but also customers throughout our eight-state service territory.""
By the way, the Xcel webpage on the Smart Grid project for Boulder is amazing, check it out:
http://www.xcelenergy.com/XLWEB/CDA/0,3080,1-1-1_15531_43141_46932-39884-0_0_0-0,00.html