AES Ohio, a subsidiary of The AES Corporation, has filed its Smart Grid Phase 2 Plan with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) and proposed to invest $682.7 million in capital projects over a 10-year period following the Smart Grid Phase I Plan ending by June 2025.
The plan includes investments in grid infrastructure with smart technologies to provide improved system stability, performance and communication capabilities.
“With the successful deployment of smart meters and mid-line reclosers in Smart Grid Phase 1, customers are benefitting from fewer outages and decreased restoration times,” said Ken Zagzebski, president and CEO, AES Utilities. “The Smart Grid 2 plan is a critical step to an integrated grid and creating meaningful capability improvements that add value to our customers.”
The three principal components of AES Ohio’s Smart Grid Phase 2 Plan:
• Automation of Distribution Operations
• Advanced Grid Intelligence
• Telecommunications and Cybersecurity
The initiatives will allow AES Ohio to be ready to leverage and integrate Distributed Energy Resources (DER) into its grid. AES Ohio will implement a comprehensive grid modernization project to deliver benefits to all customers, if approved.
The AES proposal was subject to a cost benefit analysis that shows that the benefits of the proposal outweigh the cost increase and supports the investment needed for continuing grid modernization to deliver customer value.
AES Ohio will have the lowest rates among the Ohio investor-owned utilities in the state with the proposed plan. A residential customer on AES Ohio's Standard Service Offer (SSO) using 1,000 kWh a month is expected to witness an increase of 1.78% or $2.99.
While the Smart Grid 2 Plan will be initiated for the next regulatory procedural steps by the PUCO, a procedural schedule is expected to be provided for an Order in Q2 2025 before the end of Smart Grid Phase 1.
