MEDIA ADVISORY
SRP awarded DOE stimulus funds for two projects
Customers to benefit from grants for Smart Grid, transmission reliability
SRP today was among the 100 utilities, private companies, manufacturers, cities and other partners selected by the Department of Energy as recipients of awards under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act's Smart Grid Investment Grant initiative, the largest single energy grid modernization investment in U.S. history.
The recipients were selected for consideration of federal stimulus funding that will ultimately bring lower costs, offer SRP customers more options for controlling their energy use and monthly bills, improve reliability and promote clean-energy technology.
SRP was part of two successful DOE awards, announced in Florida by President Obama:
- Smart Grid Investment Grant: SRP was awarded $56.9 million in DOE funding to accelerate deployment of "smart" meters and a meter data management system. The funds would add another 540,000 smart meters to the more than 400,000 currently being utilized. Smart meters enable SRP customers to better understand and manage their energy consumption as well as access to alternative time-of-use rates that can save them money.
- Western Interconnection Synchrophasor: SRP was one of several participants in the Western Electricity Coordinating Council's application for DOE funding totaling $53.9 million that will be used for the implementation of its Western Interconnection Synchrophasor Program (WISP). The funding, which will help improve the reliability of the bulk transmission power grid that spans 14 western states, including Arizona, will match dollars already committed by nine WISP partners in the West to extend and deploy synchrophasor technologies within their electrical systems.
"While this is only the first phase of the process, we are pleased that SRP is among the utilities that the Department of Energy has recognized as a national leader in Smart Grid technology," said Debbie Kimberly, SRP's manager of Energy Efficiency & Policy Analysis. "We'd also like to thank all of those who have supported our applications, including Arizona's elected officials.
"This is great news for SRP customers because it means we will continue to look for ways to improve service for our customers and lower future costs. This will help speed up the process of bringing a smart meter to virtually every home in our service territory, improve reliability and protect the environment."
Kimberly said SRP's experience with smart meter technology has demonstrated that customers have benefitted from lower summer electric bills by about 8 percent while helping SRP reduce its peak demand. She cited existing SRP projects such as the Time of Use and EZ-3 price plans, M-Power pre-paid metering and SRP's PowerPartner demand response program.
SRP is the largest provider of electricity in the greater Phoenix metropolitan area, serving about 935,000 customers in Maricopa and Pinal counties.
