Electric utilities making broadband inroads to unserved, under-served areas
Fiber optic lines being installed along power lines as part of an electric utility’s grid modernization will enable power companies to help build statewide systems that permit internet service providers (ISPs) to then hook up unserved and under-served broadband customers.
It’s a win-win partnership for power companies, which are already updating their existing infrastructure, and for ISPs, which call fiber optic network buildouts too pricey, especially in rural, less-populated communities across America.
Dominion Energy Virginia, for instance, last month unveiled three proposed pilot projects to help residents in rural parts of the state gain access to broadband internet critical for jobs, healthcare and education, Dominion Energy spokeswoman Audrey Cannon told Daily Energy Insider.
“With so many Virginians working and learning from home due to COVID-19, access to reliable internet is an absolute necessity,” said Cannon. “We are committed to the communities we serve and know that access to broadband will support economic development, social equity and educational opportunities for citizens of the Commonwealth.
“We hope these partnerships are the first of many, and we’re optimistic about how much these efforts could help rural communities here in our home state,” she said.
With support from the Virginia General Assembly and in collaboration with electric cooperatives and ISPs, the proposed Rural Broadband Pilot projects will extend broadband internet to citizens in Surry County, Botetourt County, and the Northern Neck of Virginia if approved by the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC). The proposal includes nearly 300 miles of middle-mile fiber and would cost approximately $29 million to construct, according to Cannon.
“Electric utilities have a unique role to play in connecting consumers to broadband, particularly in those areas where the incumbent telcos do not believe that their investments would be justified,” said consultant Heather Gold, president and CEO at HBG Strategies LLC, during a recent session at the virtual Broadband Communities 2020 Summit. “This includes both rural communities and municipalities that are striving to ensure that their citizens — particularly during this pandemic — are afforded the same level of internet services as their large suburban and urban peers.”
Gold moderated the Sept. 24 summit session entitled, “Who Will Connect America’s Broadband,” where panelists including Sheryl Riggs, CEO at the Utilities Technology Council (UTC), endorsed additional utility broadband deployments.
“The issue of utility broadband is so important because far too many Americans lack access to affordable and reliable broadband,” said Riggs of UTC, which represents electric, gas and water utilities, including all types of utilities: investor-owned, public power and cooperatives. “This is a rural, suburban and urban problem.”
UTC reports seeing an increase in interest among utilities of all kinds in providing broadband services, said Riggs, who added that “what’s very interesting is that we are also seeing a growing number of investor-owned utilities across the U.S. getting involved in unique partnerships to bring broadband to their service territories, which are unserved or under-served areas.”
Electric utilities are key partners in bringing broadband services to communities across the U.S., she said, because they have fiber networks and internal operations that bring reliable and resilient electricity to everyone in the country via both wireline and wireless technologies.
They also can leverage existing infrastructure — i.e. power plants and power lines — for broadband on a wholesale and retail basis. And the time is right, said Riggs, pointing out that since the pandemic has hit, the demand for their services has skyrocketed. “These utilities are stepping up to serve their customers where few else will,” Riggs said.
For example, if approved, the Dominion Energy Virginia pilot projects also would help provide reliable internet access for the additional number of students learning virtually due to COVID-19 and enable expanded access to telemedicine and other healthcare services, Cannon said.
“With over 500,000 Virginians without high-speed broadband access, we hope these three proposed projects are the first of many, and we look forward to collaborating with [ISPs] to expand broadband internet access across Virginia,” said Cannon, adding that the initiative was made possible by support from the Virginia General Assembly and collaboration with non-governmental ISPs.
“The Grid Transformation and Security Act of 2018 enables Dominion Energy Virginia to serve as a middle-mile provider to help extend broadband access into rural areas,” said Cannon.
Appalachian Power in Virginia, which is part of American Electric Power (AEP) and serves one million customers in Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee, also is working to bring high-speed broadband to rural Virginians under the state law that allows utilities to invest in grid modernization communications, which then can be accessed by local companies to deploy broadband to local homes and businesses in unserved areas.
The Virginia SCC, in fact, in May provided initial approval to Appalachian Power’s request to implement a pilot program that will deliver broadband technology in rural Grayson County, Va., which has received two grants totaling approximately $1.8 million from the Commonwealth to be used toward making broadband available for unserved and underserved citizens.
The pilot program grants Appalachian Power authorization to install up to 238 miles of 96-strand fiber optic cable on its utility poles in Grayson County. The utility’s cable will provide broadband capacity and support its deployment of Advanced Metering Infrastructure for customers. Space on the fiber optic communications lines also will be used to provide the so-called “middle mile”— or the bulk delivery — of internet service. GigaBeam Networks, an ISP in Bluefield, Va., has agreed to establish and offer the last-mile connectivity to Grayson County’s unserved customers.
Chris Beam, Appalachian Power president and COO, said in a statement that the company is preparing a detailed engineering study, negotiating a contract with GigaBeam, and developing the necessary rate adjustment clause filing. “Our goal is to provide a safe and reliable product for our customers, while also doing all we can to support the communities in which we live, work and provide service,” Beam said.
Similarly, Entergy Corp., an integrated energy company that delivers electricity to 2.9 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, in 2018 won approval from Mississippi state regulators to sign a long-term contract with regional ISP C Spire, which can deploy broadband networks to connect Entergy’s smart meters. This essentially gives the ISP the ability to market broadband services to Entergy’s residential and business customers along the way.
The Entergy-C Spire project spans more than 300 miles and 15 counties in some of the most rural, isolated areas of the state.
Jeremy Vanderloo, vice president of regulatory affairs for Entergy Mississippi, told Daily Energy Insider that clear guidance from the Mississippi Public Service Commission was “very helpful” in encouraging the utility to explore potential collaboration with broadband providers.
“We continue to look for opportunities to collaborate with broadband providers when it is beneficial for our customers,” said Vanderloo. “We spent $19 million on the initial C Spire projects. We have not incurred any additional costs since then, as of now.”
Vanderloo also said that a great need exists for infrastructure to solve the digital divide and that there should be room at the table for everyone who wants to participate, including telecom providers and electric utilities.
“We shouldn’t view this as an either/or solution,” he said. “It is going to take collaboration and cooperation to address this issue. We shouldn’t view each other as competitors or adversaries.”
The solution Entergy Mississippi found in its partnership with C Spire “seems unlikely to solve the entire need for our area, but it is addressing part of the need and gives us something to build upon,” Vanderloo said. “We need more types of innovative partnerships like this one if we’re going to be able to make meaningful progress.”
