The projects are slated to commence on April 12, 2010. Last October, DOE selected PHI to receive $168.1m in federal stimulus funds to help build the smart grid in the District of Columbia, Maryland and New Jersey.
$149.4m will go to Pepco, with $104.8m for smart grid projects in Maryland and $44.6m for the District of Columbia. Atlantic City Electric will receive $18.7m for its smart grid projects.
The company said that the money will help offset the cost to customers for installing meters and modernizing the electric grid.
The smart grid will create new green jobs, boost the economy and lay the technological groundwork for customers to manage their energy use and reduce carbon emissions generated by fossil-fueled power plants.
Once installed, the smart grid will provide several services to consumers including over-the-air meter reads that minimize the need for estimated bills, detailed information on energy use to enable energy management, and customer communications by e-mail or text messaging to notify customers about power outages and service restoration.
Joseph Rigby, chairman, president and CEO of PHI, said: “The $168.1m will accelerate the delivery of customer benefits through building an integrated smart grid composed of advanced metering infrastructure, distribution automation and demand response technologies.”
