Google to make monitoring energy consumption simple

Today Google announced that it has been working on something called Google PowerMeter -- a tool that will help you monitor and measure your energy consumption. Currently, most people simply pay their power bill blind -- only being able to guess where that money is actually going.

This new iGoogle gadget will let you take advantage of "Smart Meters" -- which will become a lot more common going forward.

• Analyze: Get better information about how you use energy and what you can do to be more efficient.
• Save: Reduce your energy bills and carbon footprint by making smart decisions about your energy use.
• Share: Strike up a little friendly competition to see how your energy consumption compares to your friends and neighbors.

Access to information like this is very powerful for consumers. It will help them reduce their energy consumption, and at the same time, save money. Google PowerMeter could actually have a significant impact on energy usage in the United States.