(CHARLOTTE) -- Duke Energy has applied for $200 million in federal infrastructure funds to accelerate the utility's $1 billion electric grid modernization project in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. The effort is one of the largest "smart grid" initiatives in the U.S.

Duke Energy submitted its applications to the U.S. Department of Energy, which will award $4.5 billion in smart grid grants nationwide as part of the economic stimulus and infrastructure bill passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama earlier this year.

Duke Energy is laying the groundwork to bring large-scale "smart grid" technology to North Carolina and South Carolina. The company also applied for an additional $14 million in federal funds for "smart grid" transmission lines and demonstration projects in the Carolinas.

The Utility plans to convert its entire electricity-delivery infrastructure into an advanced, state-of-the-art "smart grid." "We intend to transform the way electricity is delivered to, and managed by, our customers," said Todd Arnold, senior vice president for smart grid and customer systems at Duke Energy. "Our goal is to replace today's non-interactive electric grid with a highly interactive two-way communication grid that uses advanced digital technology."