American Electric Power will increase its capital spending by nearly 30 percent over the next five years, as it prepares for a rush of new power generation for data centers, executives said Wednesday.
The investor-owned utility, which serves customers across 11 states spanning from Michigan to Texas, said it plans to spend $72 billion to improve the grid through 2030. That’s up from the $54 billion the company had previously pledged.
Speaking to analysts on an earnings call Wednesday, AEP CEO William J. Fehrman said that the company projects its load will grow by almost 76 percent in the next five years, “fueled by data centers, reshoring of manufacturing, and further economic development.”
Fehrman added that AEP is working with state regulators to revise tariffs for data centers and other large load customers so that they shoulder more of the cost of grid upgrades. Ohio regulators have already approved a specialized tariff for data centers served by AEP, and regulators in three other states have modified existing tariff agreements. AEP is working in three other states to similarly modify existing tariffs.
