Companies jointly propose electric
transmission projects to serve region's growing power demand
through PJM's competitive planning process
Collaboration leverages expertise of
industry leaders to propose comprehensive, cost-effective solutions
that promote regional grid reliability
AKRON,
Ohio, Oct. 7, 2024 /PRNewswire/
-- FirstEnergy Corp., Dominion Energy Virginia and American
Electric Power have entered into an innovative joint planning
agreement to propose several new regional electric transmission
projects across multiple states within the PJM footprint.
The innovative collaboration comes at a time when efficient and
cost-effective regional transmission development is essential and
encouraged by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the
independent federal agency that regulates the interstate
transmission of electricity.
Power demand in the PJM region is growing at an unprecedented
pace due to rapid expansion of energy-intensive industries such as
data centers, the electrification of transportation and heating,
and increased manufacturing onshoring. At the same time, the
region's power generation mix is changing as legacy generation is
retired and more renewables are added to the grid.
"Energy-intensive industries, electrification and the energy
transition all rely on a robust power grid," said Mark Mroczynski, President, FirstEnergy
Transmission. "By drawing upon the combined experience of three
leading transmission developers, we can take the proactive steps
needed to build new infrastructure that will ensure our communities
have the power they need for sustained health and economic growth
in the future."
"This dynamic environment requires more regional collaboration
to develop large-scale 'backbone' transmission infrastructure that
spans across the areas served by our three companies," said
Ed Baine, President of Dominion
Energy Virginia. "By leveraging the expertise and resources of
three industry leaders whose transmission zones border one another,
we're better able to develop superior and more cost-effective
solutions required to effectively resolve reliability issues across
the PJM region. These projects are more comprehensive and will be
more effective than what each of our companies would be able to
develop individually."
"AEP operates the largest transmission network in the nation and
has more experience building 765-kV infrastructure than any other
company in the U.S.," said Bob
Bradish, Senior Vice President, Regulated Infrastructure
Investment Planning for AEP. "The solutions we have proposed to
address the rapidly evolving energy demand we are seeing across the
region will enable us to continue providing reliable service and
drive economic growth."
The companies jointly proposed the projects through PJM's
Regional Transmission Expansion Plan (RTEP) Open Window process in
September. PJM is the regional transmission organization that
coordinates the transportation of wholesale electricity across a
13-state region. The proposed projects include several new 765-kV,
500-kV and 345-kV transmission lines in Virginia, Ohio and West
Virginia.
The projects remain in the early stages of development. If
selected by PJM, the companies would then undertake an extensive,
multi-year process to select routes, perform environmental studies,
engage with communities, obtain state and local permitting and
build the projects.
In addition to the joint proposals, each of the three companies
have also submitted individual proposals for other transmission
projects consistent with how each company has participated in past
PJM open windows.
About FirstEnergy
FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE), is dedicated to integrity, safety,
reliability and operational excellence. Its electric distribution
companies form one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric
systems, serving more than six million customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New
Jersey, West Virginia,
Maryland and New York. The company's transmission
subsidiaries operate approximately 24,000 miles of transmission
lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. Follow
FirstEnergy online at firstenergycorp.com and on X
@FirstEnergyCorp.
About Dominion Energy
Dominion Energy (NYSE: D), headquartered in Richmond, Va., provides regulated electricity
service to 3.6 million homes and businesses in Virginia, North
Carolina, and South
Carolina, and regulated natural gas service to 400,000
customers in South Carolina. The
company is one of the nation's leading developers and
operators of regulated offshore wind and solar power and
the largest producer of carbon-free electricity in New England. The company's mission is to
provide the reliable, affordable, and increasingly clean
energy that powers its customers every day. Please
visit DominionEnergy.com to learn more.
About AEP
AEP, headquartered in Columbus,
OH, owns and operates more than 40,000 miles of transmission
lines, the nation's largest electric transmission system, and more
than 225,000 miles of distribution lines to deliver power to 5.6
million customers in 11 states. AEP also is one of the nation's
largest electricity producers with approximately 29,000 megawatts
of diverse generating capacity. AEP is investing $43 billion over the next five years to make the
electric grid cleaner and more reliable. AEP participates in the
competitive transmission space through Transource, a jointly owned
transmission company with Evergy, headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri.
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recently promulgated legacy coal combustion residual rules; changes
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to, rules recently finalized by the Environmental Protection Agency
and the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") related to
climate change; changes in customers' demand for power, including,
but not limited to, economic conditions, the impact of climate
change, emerging technology, particularly with respect to
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generation; the ability to access the public securities and other
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the cost of such capital and overall condition of the capital and
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assumptions regarding factors such as economic conditions within
our territories, the reliability of our transmission and
distribution system, generation resource planning, or the
availability of capital or other resources supporting identified
transmission and distribution investment opportunities; the
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standards and energy efficiency and peak demand reduction mandates;
human capital management challenges, including among other things,
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Act of 2022, or adverse tax audit results or rulings; and the risks
and other factors discussed from time to time in our SEC
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time, and it is not possible for management to predict all such
factors, nor assess the impact of any such factor on FirstEnergy
Corp.'s business or the extent to which any factor, or combination
of factors, may cause results to differ materially from those
contained in any forward-looking statements. FirstEnergy Corp.
expressly disclaims any obligation to update or revise, except as
required by law, any forward-looking statements contained herein or
in the information incorporated by reference as a result of new
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