Over the past couple of years, Google's made several moves that implied a sort of fascination with electricity. There was the RE<C ("renewable energy cheaper than coal") initiative, its fleet of plug-in hybrids, and the development of the PowerMeter, for example. Now, Google's checked in with an update about the smart grid.
Don't scan this article for completion dates, price tags, or anything of that sort (and don't bother clicking on the link and doing the same on the other side, either). Google didn't provide information along those lines.