With more than 20 gigawatts of new power demand expected across our footprint by the end of the decade, we are looking at innovative ways to grow.
- Strengthening Regional Ties: Regional grid operator PJM Interconnection has selected several electric transmission projects that will be developed by Transource Energy, our competitive transmission affiliate, along with Dominion Energy, and FirstEnergy Transmission, LLC. Transource Energy will invest approximately $1.7 billion to improve reliability and increase power availability in states throughout the PJM footprint including Indiana, Maryland, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia.
- Financing Improvements: KKR and PSP Investments have jointly acquired a 19.9% equity interest investment in AEP’s Ohio and Indiana Michigan transmission companies. AEP’s strategic partnership with KKR and PSP Investments will enable further infrastructure development to support the growth opportunities in AEP’s Indiana, Michigan and Ohio service territories.
- Scaling for the Future: AEP Texas is preparing to construct the Howard-Solstice Transmission Line Project, one of the first 765-kilovolt transmission lines in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, to address the increasing electricity demands of the Permian Basin. This 300-mile project will connect AEP Texas’ Solstice Substation near Fort Stockton to a substation near San Antonio. The project aligns with Texas House Bill 5066, emphasizing the need for improved electric reliability in the region due to significant population and economic growth.
- Going Nuclear: Appalachian Power and Indiana Michigan Power are exploring the potential to build small modular reactors (SMRs) in Virginia and Indiana. SMRs could provide safe, reliable and clean energy 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The relatively small footprint allows SMRs to be constructed in areas that were not previously feasible for nuclear energy generation.
- Pursuing Generation: Indiana Michigan Power has asked the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission to approve its acquisition of the Oregon Clean Energy Center, an 870 megawatt natural gas plant in Oregon, Ohio.
- Growing the Portfolio: The Oklahoma Corporation Commission has approved the Public Service Company of Oklahoma's purchase of the Green Country Power Plant, a 795 megawatt natural gas-fired generation facility in Jenks, Oklahoma. This acquisition, set to be finalized by July, will enhance PSO's capacity to meet the rising energy demands of its customers.
- Outage Reduction: AEP Texas implemented a three-year resiliency plan to harden its distribution infrastructure with targeted tree trimming, vegetation management work and introducing technologies that provide situational awareness. The purpose of the system resiliency plan is to reduce the duration of outages and lower the restoration costs of future storm events.
- Pole Replacement Plan: SWPECO launched a system-wide pole replacement project which is aimed at strengthening the distribution system to better withstand severe weather and other disruptive events across its service territory. In total, 21,634 poles are targeted to be replaced over the next three years in Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas.
These approaches and initiatives will improve reliability, increase power availability and support economic development, stable energy costs and access to new technologies.
“Energy demand is growing at a pace our nation has not seen in decades,” said Bill Fehrman, AEP president and chief executive officer. “Building or upgrading our infrastructure to continue delivering reliable power is essential to fueling economic growth and meeting the needs of our customers.”