This document is the first Smart Grid System Report to Congress mandated by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. It summarizes the key findings of the report, which assess the status of smart grid deployments nationwide and any barriers. The report finds that while distributed energy resources and advanced metering infrastructure are growing, penetration remains low. It also finds that modernizing the electricity infrastructure is progressing, but understanding the business cases and policies is still emerging. Overall, the smart grid represents a significant technological and cultural change for the electric system.