The electric utility said nearly 900,000 customers will get the new smart meters during the upgrade program
AEP Ohio, a unit of major electric utility American Electric Power, is rolling out smart meters to nearly 900,000 customers in its area of operation. The smart meter installations will initially move through the central Ohio area and continue throughout AEP Ohio’s service territory until completion, which is planned for February 2021.
A company spokesperson told Enterprise IoT Insights that Aclara Technologies will supply the meters, complete the installations and provide support for the deployment.
In 2009, 132,000 AEP Ohio customers received smart meters as part of the company’s gridSMART demonstration project. Due to the success of the initiative, the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio approved AEP Ohio to install smart meters across its service territory.
Smart meters send the customers’ electric usage data to AEP Ohio throughout the day—eliminating the need to access the customers’ properties for meter reading and simplifying the billing process.
The smart meters also enable new features and technology that will help customers manage their energy usage from a smart phone, tablet or laptop.
“Installing smart meters will allow us to continue our commitment to delivering reliable service, while providing our customers more information to better manage their energy usage and save money – without sacrificing comfort,” said Julie Sloat, AEP Ohio president and chief operating officer.
The utility said that during 2017 customers in Delaware, Lewis Center, Sunbury, Johnstown, Galena, Westerville, New Albany, Pataskala, Powell, Worthington, Dublin, Amlin, Plain City will receive the devices.
AEP Ohio delivers electricity to nearly 1.5 million customers of AEP’s subsidiary Ohio Power Co. in Ohio. American Electric Power is one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, delivering electricity and custom energy solutions to nearly 5.4 million customers in 11 states.
