PHI will use the money to help offset the cost to customers for installing meters and modernizing the electric grid. The smart grid is expected to create new green jobs and lay the technological groundwork for customers to manage their energy use and reduce carbon emissions generated by fossil-fueled power plants.
Joseph Rigby, chairman, president and CEO of PHI, said: “Pepco Holdings is extremely pleased to learn that the Department of Energy has awarded the company $168.1m in federal stimulus funds under president Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
“The awards are an extraordinary opportunity to accelerate the delivery of customer benefits through building an integrated smart grid composed of advanced metering infrastructure, distribution automation and demand response technologies. We look forward to working with regulators to implement smart meters for our customers.”
Once installed, the smart grid will provide services to consumers including over-the-air meter reads that minimize the need for estimated bills, information on energy use to enable better energy management, and customer communications by e-mail or text messaging to notify customers about power outages and service restoration.
Atlantic City Electric is set to receive funding to deploy 25,000 demand response devices, intelligent grid sensors, distribution automation technology and communications infrastructure to optimize the grid’s operations and help consumers manage their energy use. Atlantic City Electric and Pepco are utility affiliates of PHI.
