AEP Ohio Plans to Expand Its DACR Network
Image courtesy of Bruce Guenter under Attribution 2.0 Generic License, resized to 700 x 391 pixels.
AEP Ohio has asked the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) to approve an expansion of its automation circuit reconfiguration (DACR) technologies. The request was submitted within the utility’s recent reliability plan, which falls under the umbrella of its gridSMART program that also includes initiatives such as advanced meter installation and efficiency technology.
Here’s a quick look into the nuts and bolts of the DACR elements of AEP’s most recent resiliency plan.
How AEP Plans to Build Out Its DACR Tactics
AEP has already installed DACR technologies within its service territory, and the new plan calls for the installation or upgrade of an additional 412 circuits. This would encompass the deployment of DACR technology on 333 new circuits, and an upgrade on 79 existing DACR-deployed circuits, over the next 6 years. The total cost of this initiative is approximately $350 million.
The utility claims that the technology has already prevented 41 million minutes of customer interruptions (roughly 683k hours).
The technology reduces outage hours by automatically rerouting power when it detects an anomaly. It also helps determine exactly what needs to happen to help crews restore power as soon as possible.
The impetus for AEP’s request is that it failed to meet its own restoration & outage targets in 2023, which marked the eighth year in a row that at least 1 regulated Ohio utility company missed the mark. The good news for AEP is that the frequency of its outages declined in 2023 compared to 2021 and 2022, but the duration did not meet goals.
Time will tell if the plan is approved, but to my eye (i.e., from an emergency preparedness perspective), I don’t see any reason for it not to be. Of course, customers will need to pay a little more to help fund these efforts, which could cause an issue, but at least it’s a nominal amount (an extra $0.22 per month per 1,000 kWh of usage). Seems like a small price to pay for the enhanced value of the DACR technology!
