The Dayton Power and Light Co. (DP&L), a subsidiary of The AES Corp., announced its Dec. 21 filing with the Public Utility Commission of Ohio (PUCO) of its Distribution Modernization Plan. DP&L proposes to invest US$576 million in capital projects over the next decade providing direct customer benefits through a robust, efficient electric grid. The initiatives will also allow DP&L to be ready to integrate electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure and Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) into its grid, including demonstrations of community solar, energy storage, and microgrids.
The filing is aligned to the PowerForward Roadmap issued by the PUCO earlier this year.
“DP&L’s Distribution Modernization Plan is responsive to the principles and objectives outlined in the PowerForward Roadmap,” said Lisa Krueger, president of the U.S. Strategic Business Unit, responsible for AES’ U.S. utilities, including DP&L. “The plan’s submission is our opportunity to explain the details of our proposal, which will deliver significant value to our customers. DP&L is proud of its long history in this community and our Modernization Plan will transform the electric grid into a system that uses information and communications technologies to allow our customers to experience personalized, innovative, and seamless energy services.”
Upon PUCO approval, DP&L will begin its digital transformation with the addition of advanced metering infrastructure, which will improve overall customer experience through better system reliability, performance and communication. After PUCO approval, DP&L will put in place the required infrastructure to support smart meters and install approximately 100,000 meters annually through completion of installation for all customers. Investments will also create a self-healing grid allowing DP&L to isolate problems automatically and re-route power around the problem often without noticeable interruption of service to our customers.
DP&L’s proposed plan also includes customer engagement components to improve customer experience through mobile applications, pre-pay options and time-of-use rates. The plan creates a grid platform that will enable future innovations accommodating innovative services for customers. If approved by the PUCO, DP&L’s typical retail customer, using 1000kWh, on SSO service, will see an initial bill increase of $1.99 per month.
