Pacific Gas & Electric announced today that they've created a new "plug-in Prius" that can power your home in case of a blackout. Talk about a wired home dream come true!

Reported by Sarah Jane Tribble of the Mercury News, this is GREAT news for the utility company. Prices for plug-in hybrids are expected to range from $3,000 to $5,000 more than conventional hybrids, which would mean cars such as the Toyota Prius would be in the high $20,000 price range, said Bill Van Amburg, senior vice president for the industry trade group CALSTART.

Tribble reports: "The investor-owned utility, which appears to be the first in the United States to demonstrate a car that can power a home, says customers will be able to use plug-ins to cut greenhouse gas emissions as well as high home-energy bills."

If you ask me, that's pretty darn awesome!

You can read all about Pacific Gas & Electric's hybrid Toyota Prius that has several awesome new features that make the standard Prius GREAT (PDF).