Ameren Illinois Utilities Request $45 Million in
Federal Stimulus Grants
to Fund Smart Grid Projects
Service Reliability, Energy
Efficiency Emphasized
PEORIA, Ill., Aug. 6, 2009 -- The Ameren Illinois Utilities
(AmerenCIPS, AmerenCILCO, AmerenIP) today announced they have
applied for $45 million in matching grants from the $787-billion
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (stimulus program)
to help fund Smart Grid projects that will improve overall electric
service reliability.
"If our request is approved, our customers will benefit from
advanced smart grid technologies that will improve service
reliability, help our customers better manage their electrical
usage, allow us to restore service more quickly when outages do
occur and enhance safety for our co-workers," said Ron Pate, Ameren
Illinois Utilities (AIU) vice president of Regional
Operations.
AIU's Smart Grid Project will cost $83 million, of which $75
million is eligible for a 50 percent federal match of $37.5
million. In addition, AIU is requesting $7.5 million for an
Advanced Distribution Management System. AIU's total cost for this
project is $15 million.
The key components of the Smart Grid Project include:
- Upgrading of more than 100 electrical substations with advanced
smart substation equipment, while establishing a smart substation
design standard for all new substations. This effort will improve
service reliability, operating efficiency and safety.
- Installing smart grid diagnostic technology that will help AIU
identify equipment problems and make corrections before service is
interrupted.
- Installing several hundred smart switches on distribution lines
to reduce the number and duration of service interruptions.
- Providing new technology that will allow AIU to better manage
the transmission of electricity from suppliers to customers,
resulting in improved operating efficiencies and a higher degree of
service reliability.
- Expanding AIU's E-Smart Programmable Thermostat Program, which
allows AIU to better manage peak electrical loads while providing
customers greater control over their energy usage.
- Encouraging the growth of AIU's Power Smart Pricing Program,
which enables customers to use electricity at those times of the
day when the cost of electricity is low.
The Advanced Distribution Management System will serve as a
foundation for the AIU Smart Grid Project. This system will provide
a common interface to monitor, control and manage the electrical
distribution system and smart electrical devices. It also will
enhance AIU's ability to identify and isolate electrical faults
that cause service outages, which in turn will help speed the
restoration of electrical service.
AIU will ask the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) to approve a
rider that will allow AIU to add a small charge to customer bills
to recover AIU's portion of the project costs. The ICC must approve
the proposed projects before they are implemented and costs
recovered through a rider.
Additional information about energy efficiency programs that help
customers spend less by using less energy is available at
ActOnEnergy.com.
The Ameren Illinois Utilities (AmerenCIPS, AmerenCILCO, AmerenIP)
have been providing safe, reliable energy delivery service for more
than a century. The Ameren Illinois Utilities deliver energy to 1.2
million electric and 840,000 natural gas customers in more than
1,200 communities within a 43,700-square-mile service
territory.
SOURCE: Ameren Illinois Utilities
Web site: http://www.ameren.com/
