AEP
Peggy Simmons is AEP’s Executive Vice President for Utilities. Paul Kjellander is PUF Senior Advisor and former Idaho PUC Chair.
Safe, reliable, and affordable has become a mantra in the energy and utilities industry as demands on power systems accelerate. But it has become more difficult to keep up with those words, even with the federal government in the last few years authorizing billions of dollars to modernize the electric grid, build a nationwide network of electric vehicle chargers, strengthen the battery supply chain, invest in clean energy and emissions reduction technologies, improve resilience, and more.
American Electric Power's leaders know a lot about keeping up with these changes, with a vast transmission system spread over two hundred thousand miles of service territory and operating in eleven states. The utility company has much to negotiate to keep the grid strong and provide for increasing electric demand.
To find out how it is keeping up with all the new demands on its system, Public Utilities Fortnightly had a conversation with a leader there. AEP's Executive Vice President for Utilities, Peggy Simmons, is working hard to handle the changes, and explained how the company is accomplishing its goals.
PUF's Paul Kjellander: Electricity demand is growing. What are you seeing happening to demand forecasted for AEP, and what are the drivers?