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Big Utilities, Little Cooperatives - Check Out Our List of Investment Grant Hopefuls By Aug 11, 2009 - 3:58:54 PM
The ceiling for investment grant projects was set at $200 million, but Southern is actually proposing two distinct projects, which is allowed under the FOA. The utility requested $197 million for advanced metering and another $165 million to increase automation of electric transmission and distribution infrastructure.
Serving 4.4 million customers in a four-state territory that includes Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, and Florida, Southern Company is one of the oldest and largest electricity producers in the nation. See Smart Grid Central’s Southern Co. profile for details.
With so many requests for funding (see below), it remains to be seen how DOE will divvy up the money. Energy officials have indicated that “shovel-ready” projects that have already obtained regulatory approval will have an advantage. Job creation could also be a key differentiator, since that’s one of the objectives of the Recovery Act.
How will non-utility applicants fare? That’s what the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) of Chicago are waiting to hear. BOMA, which represents office landlords in downtown Chicago, is applying for $90 million in Smart Grid investment grant money to retrofit buildings with advanced smart meters. It may be one of the few non-utility applicants for the Smart Grid grants.
So who’s looking for some help from Uncle Sam? We've got a starter list below. But there are likely many out there who have yet to broadcast their plans. In fact, one source suggests the DOE may have received as many as 600 applications for Smart Grid funding; others say 400 is closer to the count. Please drop us a line in TalkBack if you know of utilities or other applicants that we’re missing. . . .
AEP Texas North Co
$32.5 million to install residential and advanced meters. News story
Alliant Energy
$45 million for AMI in Iowa and Minnesota. Press release
Ameren Corp
$185 million for infrastructure upgrades, Smart Grid projects and electric vehicles for its Missouri and Illinois utilities. New story
American Transmission Co
$21.75 million to improve monitoring of the power grid in Wisconsin and improve power flows in Michigan. News story
Avista
$20 million to upgrade the electric distribution system in Spokane, WA. Press release
Baltimore Gas & Electric
$200 million for smart meter deployment. News story
Bangor Hydro Electric Co
$4.3 million to implement rate trials involving dynamic supply pricing for participating customers in Maine. News story
Bluebonnet Electric Coop
$18.8 million to complete the next phase of its Sustainable Grid(TM) initiative. Press release
Building Owners and Managers Assn
$90 million for smart meters in downtown Chicago office buildings. News story
Burbank Water and Power
$20 million for smart meter deployment. Press release
CenterPoint Energy
$200 million to accelerate smart meter deployment in Texas and to install automated equipment to reroute power during outages. News story
Commonwealth Edison
$175 million for its AMI pilot and additional investment in Smart Grid technologies in northern Illinois. Press release
Consolidated Edison
$172 million to help fund Smart Grid projects in the service areas of Con Edison New York, Inc. and the Orange & Rockland Utilities. Press release
Duke Energy
$214 million, the bulk of it ($200M) to accelerate the utility’s $1 billion electric-grid modernization project in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky; 14 million Smart Grid transmission lines and demonstration projects in the Carolinas. News story
Dominion Virginia Power
$200 million to accelerate the installation of 2.4 million smart meters. Press release
Energy United
$8 million to expand its smart meter pilot project in its North Carolina service area. News story
FirstEnergy Corp
$57 million for Smart Grid technologies to improve the reliability and interactivity of the company's electric distribution infrastructure in Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. News story
Florida Power & Light
$200 million for smart meter deployment, electric network upgrades, solar panels and plug-in vehicles. News story.
Glendale Water & Power
$20 million for AMI deployment. Press release
Lakeland Electric
$20 million for smart meters to avoid billing backlogs and to monitor power usage in Florida. News story
Lincoln Electric System
$33.5 million to develop Smart Grid technologies in its Nebraska service area. News story
Long Island Power Authority
$119 million to add a high-tech computer system and digital technology to update the existing power grid. News story
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
$200 million for a Smart Grid implementation project. News story
Madison Gas & Electric
$5.5 million to install smart meters for many large business and 1,000 residential customers in Dane County, Wis. and other projects. Press release
National Grid
$200 million to develop an “end-to-end” Smart Grid deployment that will include approximately 200,000 customers in New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Press release
Nebraska Public Power District
$32 million (on behalf of itself and 13 other utilities in the state) to install and integrate Smart grid technologies. News story
Northeast Utilities
$126.5 million to add Smart Grid capabilities to its distribution network in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. News story
NStar Electric & Gas
$28 million for smart metering, intelligent communication infrastructure, renewable energy connections in a downtown setting, and distribution automation in Massachusetts. Press release
NV Energy
$138 million for the company's Advanced Service Delivery (ASD) project in Nevada. Press release
Omaha Public Power District
$7.8 million for a project utilizing Smart Grid technology. News story
Oncor
$317 million, of that $200M to lower the cost of its Smart Texas advanced meter system initiative; $58 million for telecommunications network investments to support Smart Grid initiatives, and $58 million for distribution automation to improve service and reliability. Press release
Pacific Gas and Electric
$42.5 million for smart networking devices (such as smart thermostats), transmission grid monitoring and energy storage. News story
Peco Energy
$200 million to turn its power distribution system into a Smart Grid with smart meter deployment. News story
Pepco Holdings
$254 million for advanced metering, distribution automation and direct load equipment in the District of Columbia and Maryland, plus upgrades for its utilities in New Jersey and Delaware. News story
PPL Electric Utilities
$19 million for a testing program for smart meters and monitoring systems in Pennsylvania. News story
Progress Energy
$200 million for Smart Grid enhancements in its Florida and Carolinas territories. News story
Public Service Gas & Electric
$76 million for enhancements at 40 substations in New Jersey and to extend the rollout of Advanced Loop Scheme (ALS) technology. News story
Puget Sound Energy
$20 million for pilot projects to test new equipment that responds automatically to storms and other events; also smart meter installation.
Salt River Project
$80 million for smart meters, grid integration and a joint carbon sequestration project in northern Arizona with other utilities. News story
San Diego Gas & Electric
$30 million for a project involving Smart Grid wireless technologies. News story
Southern Company
$197 million for its advanced metering or 'Smart Meter'
Tacoma Power
$32 million to accelerate installation of two-way meters in 135,000 homes and businesses in its Washington State service area. News story
Tennessee Valley Authority
$200 million (in conjunction with its distributors) to upgrade electric meters and communications across its 7-state region. News story
Texas-New Mexico Power Co
$49.5 million to support deployment of a Smart Grid including advanced meter technologies throughout its service area. Press release
United Illuminating
$37.5 million to install communication infrastructure to more easily monitor and manage its electrical grid. News story
Vermont utilities
$66 million to deploy advanced electricity metering, grid automation and security technologies across the state. (The request was filed on behalf of 20 electric utilities, Efficiency Vermont and Vermont Electric Power Co., the state's transmission utility.) News story
We Energies
$3.5 million to test new meters and in-home devices in Shorewood, Glendale, and Milwaukee, Wis. News story
Westar Energy
$20 million for energy efficiency upgrades in Lawrence, Kansas, including programmable thermostats and Web access. News story
Westfield Gas & Electric
$5 million (estimated) for smart meters in Massachusetts. News story
Wisconsin Power & Light
$10 million for a pilot program to study consumer behavior when they have real-time information on their energy use. News story
Wisconsin Public Service Corp
$18 million to increase system reliability, News story
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