US-based Progress Energy, a Fortune 500 energy company, has filed for $200m federal infrastructure funds with the US Department of Energy (DOE), in support of its investment in an electric Smart Grid in the Carolinas and Florida.
The company has planned to invest $320m in Smart Grid to improve the electricity delivery system at its Progress Energy Carolinas and Progress Energy Florida utilities. If approved, the $200m DOE grant would be shared equally on Smart Grid projects in the Carolinas and Florida and would advance additional Smart Grid investments.
As a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the DOE will award $4.5 billion in Smart Grid grants nationwide. The “Smart Grid”, a modernized electric transmission and distribution system that is enabled by digital technology, delivers detailed, real-time information about energy use to customers.
The company, an integrated utility, can leverage the value Smart Grid offers from its generating plants, across its transmission and distribution systems to its customers’ homes and businesses. The company maintains a network of around 11,000 miles of electric transmission lines and 100,000 miles of distribution lines across 54,000 square miles in the Carolinas and Florida.
Bill Johnson, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Progress Energy, said: “Smart Grid will enable us to enhance and improve service to our customers. It will allow our customers ultimately to have more direct control of their energy use and their bill through pricing signals and pre-pay options. Leveraging this technology, Progress Energy will partner with our customers to help them manage their usage based on personal preferences and household needs. The end result will be improved system efficiencies, energy conservation and a cleaner environment.”
Johnson added: “Smart Grid will enhance power quality and service reliability while helping us secure the energy future for our customers. Our company is committed to a balanced solution strategy to meet the future energy needs of our customers at a time of rising energy costs and concerns about climate change. This balanced approach includes aggressive energy efficiency, investments in renewable and alternative energy, and state-of-the-art plants and facilities. The Smart Grid is a fundamental tool to help us meet these objectives.”
In pursuit of the DOE grant IBM and Telvent are strategic partners with the company. IBM would supply consulting, optimization software and services for coordination and prioritization of advanced load shaping and efficiency.