HOLYOKE, Mass. — Potential outages and other disruptions on New England’s power grid will be spotted more quickly as the region’s grid operator installs new equipment paid for by federal stimulus money.

ISO-New England says it will use an $8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to install high-speed sensors that monitor voltage and other conditions on the grid. The smart-grid devices will relay information 30 times a second, up from once every four seconds.

The grant will cover nearly half the cost of the upgrade. ISO New England and transmission owners participating in the project will match the federal grant.

Transmission companies and ISO New England expect to begin installing equipment this summer and complete the project over three years.