Hawaii is getting $5.3 million in federal stimulus money that will be used for projects modernizing the state's power grids.

The funding is part of a $3.4 billion nationwide effort for renewable energy promoted by President Barack Obama on Tuesday.

The island money will go toward Hawaiian Electric Co., Referentia, the University of Hawaii and the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute.

It's meant to promote "smart grid" projects, such as installing programmable power usage monitors in homes, automating utility substations and installing thousands of new digital transformers and grid sensors.

U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie says the smart grid is at the heart of Hawaii's ability to promote energy efficiency and to accommodate more renewable technologies like solar and wind.