Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel

Message from the Consumers' Counsel:

Upgrades to increase reliability, change way consumers interact with electricity

Around the nation, electric utilities are looking for ways to improve their power systems to provide efficient and reliable electricity delivered at the cheapest cost. In Ohio, electric utilities have been looking at upgrades that will overhaul the delivery of electricity, fundamentally changing the way customers interact with it.

The modernized electric grid, often referred to as the “smart grid,” applies information and communication technologies to the delivery of electricity. These updates will allow consumers to better manage electric consumption, improve reliability and incorporate energy efficiency and renewable energy, among other improvements. The result will be a more reliable power grid that delivers electricity more efficiently to consumers.

While there are many elements to the smart grid, consumers’ direct involvement with it will come in the form of advanced meters and in-home displays. These devices enable two-way communication between the utility and the consumer. This will put more information at consumers’ fingertips, allowing them to make electricity decisions using real-time prices and permitting better management, monitoring and control of energy use in their homes.

American Electric Power, Duke Energy Ohio and FirstEnergy have all been awarded federal dollars to begin installing smart grids in their Ohio territories. Duke Energy has plans to install advanced meters for 140,000 customers and upgrade power lines. AEP has planned a 100,000-customer pilot program in Central Ohio with its stimulus money. FirstEnergy is awaiting approval from the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) that could bring smart grid upgrades to as many as 40,000 customers.

While Dayton Power and Light was not awarded a stimulus grant, it has submitted a financial case for smart grid improvements to the PUCO for consideration.

Improvements to the grid are needed but they must be done as cost-effectively as possible. The national electric blackout of 2003 – which started in the FirstEnergy service territory – and the 2008 wind storms caused by Hurricane Ike illustrated how important electricity is to our society and the hardships extended outages can have on our livelihoods and economy. A smarter grid might have enabled electric utilities to isolate these outages more quickly, limited the number of people who went without power, and restored electricity to those who lost it within a shorter time period.

In addition to the major power outages already experienced by millions of people in the last decade, experts are predicting that by 2030 electricity demand could soar to 27 percent above our current needs. Increasing demand on Ohio’s already fragmented, overtaxed and outdated electric system will only cause more outages and inconveniences for consumers.

By bringing the power grid up-to-date with current technology, added to the energy efficiency tools we already and plan to use, consumers can begin to enjoy improved reliability and more control over their energy decisions. The smart grid can help deliver these benefits.

The Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel will be closely involved in each utility’s smart grid implementation to ensure all costs borne by residential utility consumers are prudent and reasonable. It will be very important that the consumer benefits associated with smart grid outweigh the utilities’ costs. Timelines also must be established to implement pricing options so consumers can better manage and control their energy costs. As your consumer advocate, I will work to get these essential elements included.

Best regards,

Janine L. Migden-Ostrander