Dominion Voltage, Inc. (DVI), a subsidiary of Dominion Energy (NYSE: D) and leader in Volt/VAR optimization, or “VO” solutions, announced that it will work with Ameren Illinois to deliver one of the most transformative VO programs in the nation — with a goal of achieving 422 GWhrs in energy savings annually when fully deployed by the end of 2025.
After 18 months of testing using DVI’s EDGE VO software platform and several other solutions, Ameren Illinois determined that DVI’s technology is best suited to help achieve its goal of safely reducing the average distribution voltage and realizing customer energy savings.
“Ameren Illinois is an industry leader recognized for its commitment to energy efficiency and environmental stewardship,” said Todd Headlee, Director, DVI. “DVI is proud to be delivering our VO solution to Ameren Illinois as a grid automation application of the future, enabling it to achieve its energy-efficiency goals.”
“DVI’s approach to VO is the best choice for Ameren Illinois for energy efficiency through voltage optimization,” said Ron Pate, Senior Vice President, Operations and Technical Services, Ameren Illinois. “We expect this program to provide many benefits for our customers and we look forward to continued collaboration with DVI to complete this important initiative.”
Among the benefits of DVI’s VO solution, end customers save on their electric bills because homes and businesses run more efficiently. Through VO, the voltage delivered by the utility is consistently several volts lower compared to traditional distribution-management system methods. The process achieves a more efficient grid operation by reducing the customer’s energy consumption, and overall system losses. In contrast to some other energy-efficiency measures, VO requires no behavioral changes by the customer and has no impact on lifestyle while delivering energy savings across all customer classes.
