During a Florida speech Tuesday, President Barack Obama announced $3.4 billion in government support for 100 projects aimed at modernizing the nation's power grid.

And more than $19.3 million is coming to Benton Harbor-based Whirlpool for the development of “smart” appliances that will work more efficiently in tandem with those upgraded power grids.

Whirlpool Corporation was named as a grant recipient for appliance projects that will allow customers to reduce costs and peak electricity demand, through scheduled or deferred energy use, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

The move was praised by U.S. Sens. Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow, both D-Mich., in a joint statement issued Tuesday.

“This is a significant investment that will help improve energy efficiency throughout the state,” said Stabenow. “Most importantly, this creates new jobs.”

The $3.4 billion in grants from the stimulus program will be matched by private funds, creating more than $8 billion in total investment, the DOE said.

Matt Rogers, the Energy Department official involved in the program, said the 100 projects were selected from 400 proposed.

The money will be distributed over the next two months and the work is expected to be done over the next one to three years, he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.