Dayton Power & Light to invest $249M in grid upgrade

Dayton Power & Light Company (DP&L) is planning to invest $249 million in capital projects over the next four years to modernize the electric grid.

This four-year initiative, which will be done in two phases, is pending approval by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) staff.

“We appreciate the opportunities to work with all interested parties to reach a balanced and fair settlement agreement to continue our progress toward creating a smarter energy future for our customers,” Lisa Krueger, president of the U.S. strategic business unit for The AES Corp., the parent company of DP&L, said. “This marks an exciting step in our digital transformation to provide our customers with personalized, innovative, and seamless energy services.”

DP&L will upgrade to an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), or smart meters, to improve overall customer experience through better system reliability, performance, and communication. It will also install technology to allow “self-healing” of portions of the grid, which isolates problems and automatically re-route power without service interruption to our customers. Further, the company will provide rebate programs for electric vehicle supply equipment and smart thermostats. In addition, DP&L will prioritize installing equipment in the west and northwest areas of the city of Dayton, which were hit hard by the 2019 Memorial Day tornadoes.

DP&L has the lowest residential rates of the investor-owned utilities in Ohio. If PUCO approves the plan, the average residential customer in the DP&L service territory, using 1,000 kWh, can expect a monthly bill adjustment of $0.94.