AEP seeking stimulus funding for GridSmart
Monday, August 31, 2009, 2:12pm EDT | Modified: Monday, August 31, 2009, 5:07pm
Business First of Columbus - by Matt Burns
American Electric Power Company Inc. is vying for a chunk of federal stimulus funding on more than one front.
The Columbus-based utility’s AEP Ohio subsidiary said Monday that it has applied for $75 million in funding through the U.S. Department of Energy to back its GridSmart program, a $150 million initiative aimed at cutting customers’ electricity usage. AEP only days ago said it plans to seek $334 million in stimulus funding for the installation of a carbon dioxide capture-and-storage system at its power plant in New Haven, W.Va., along the Ohio River.
AEP said the Energy Department is looking to fund companies’ projects that can demonstrate how so-called “smart grid” technology can boost the safety and reliability of energy nationwide through regional projects. The utility’s GridSmart project is set to start in northeast Central Ohio next year with the installation of “smart meters” at customers’ homes and businesses that allow greater control over usage.
With the meters, AEP Ohio spokeswoman Terri Flora said, customers will be able to log on to a Web site and look at the previous day’s electricity consumption in detail. That information, she said, can help customers be more strategic in working around peak-demand usage hours.
“We’re not really asking them to do less,” she said. “We’re asking them to use their energy more wisely.”
GridSmart, which also will fund the testing of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and energy-efficient appliances, is expected to lead to the creation of more than 500 jobs over three years.
Through a comprehensive energy bill passed last year, AEP must cut its output by 0.3 percent this year and 0.5 percent in 2010. That cut increases incrementally over the next few decades to hit 22 percent in 2025.
“This not only helps us achieve our goal but helps customers as well,” Flora said.
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio in March cleared AEP to put $54.5 million toward the program and seek federal funding. AEP said it will finance the remaining $20 million of the project not covered by its own spending or federal funds with the help of corporate partners that include Columbus-based research giant Battelle and General Electric Co. (NYSE:GE).
The company expects to be notified about the award later in the year. Flora said that AEP is confident it will secure the funding, but in the event that it receives less or no stimulus funding, it will reevaluate the scope of the program.
AEP (NYSE:AEP) delivers electricity to more than 5 million customers in 11 states, including about 1.5 million Ohio customers. The company last year earned $1.38 billion on $14.6 billion in revenue.
Business First of Columbus - by Matt Burns
American Electric Power Company Inc. is vying for a chunk of federal stimulus funding on more than one front.
The Columbus-based utility’s AEP Ohio subsidiary said Monday that it has applied for $75 million in funding through the U.S. Department of Energy to back its GridSmart program, a $150 million initiative aimed at cutting customers’ electricity usage. AEP only days ago said it plans to seek $334 million in stimulus funding for the installation of a carbon dioxide capture-and-storage system at its power plant in New Haven, W.Va., along the Ohio River.
AEP said the Energy Department is looking to fund companies’ projects that can demonstrate how so-called “smart grid” technology can boost the safety and reliability of energy nationwide through regional projects. The utility’s GridSmart project is set to start in northeast Central Ohio next year with the installation of “smart meters” at customers’ homes and businesses that allow greater control over usage.
With the meters, AEP Ohio spokeswoman Terri Flora said, customers will be able to log on to a Web site and look at the previous day’s electricity consumption in detail. That information, she said, can help customers be more strategic in working around peak-demand usage hours.
“We’re not really asking them to do less,” she said. “We’re asking them to use their energy more wisely.”
GridSmart, which also will fund the testing of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and energy-efficient appliances, is expected to lead to the creation of more than 500 jobs over three years.
Through a comprehensive energy bill passed last year, AEP must cut its output by 0.3 percent this year and 0.5 percent in 2010. That cut increases incrementally over the next few decades to hit 22 percent in 2025.
“This not only helps us achieve our goal but helps customers as well,” Flora said.
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio in March cleared AEP to put $54.5 million toward the program and seek federal funding. AEP said it will finance the remaining $20 million of the project not covered by its own spending or federal funds with the help of corporate partners that include Columbus-based research giant Battelle and General Electric Co. (NYSE:GE).
The company expects to be notified about the award later in the year. Flora said that AEP is confident it will secure the funding, but in the event that it receives less or no stimulus funding, it will reevaluate the scope of the program.
AEP (NYSE:AEP) delivers electricity to more than 5 million customers in 11 states, including about 1.5 million Ohio customers. The company last year earned $1.38 billion on $14.6 billion in revenue.
posted by Ben Blanquera at
6:12 AM
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