Remember Google.org, the philanthropic arm of Google, with Dr. Larry Brilliant at its helm (I just love mentioning that name) and a hefty 1 billion to spend? Their latest initiative is called Google PowerMeter, a service that will let you track electricity usage in your house.

Of course, what you’re probably wondering now is how the hell does Google know how much electricity I spend, and when did I sign up for that? The trick is: it doesn’t. The software will rely on“smart” electrical meters which will be able to report the data back to Google, so you can have a convenient PowerMeter gadget on your iGoogle homepage.