American Electric Power (AEP) has selected Jacobs to help deliver a five-year transmission infrastructure program spanning seven states as the utility prepares to invest $37 billion in its power transmission network through 2031.
The work will cover Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia and Virginia, with Jacobs providing project management, engineering and design, project controls, siting, environmental services, public outreach and right-of-way support. Delivery is underway and will expand as AEP’s project portfolio grows.
The selection comes as AEP expands its capital investment plans to accommodate rising electricity demand, including new requirements from data centers and other large energy users. However, the companies have not disclosed the value of Jacobs’ contract or identified the individual transmission projects covered by the arrangement.
The $37 billion figure represents AEP’s planned transmission investment, not the value of Jacobs’ award.
AEP expands transmission investment as electricity demand grows
AEP announced a $100 billion capital investment plan for 2027 through 2031 on October 28, 2026. The plan allocates approximately $37 billion to transmission, $36 billion to generation and $22 billion to distribution infrastructure.
The utility expects its transmission rate base to approach $70 billion by 2031, nearly doubling its current level. AEP also reported 15 gigawatts of new load commitments signed during the third quarter of 2026 and expects incremental contracted load to reach 84 GW by 2031.
That growth creates a substantial infrastructure challenge. Utilities must connect new customers to available generation while ensuring that transmission lines, substations and associated equipment can carry the required electricity reliably.
Data centers are an important part of the demand picture because their computing equipment and cooling systems require substantial power, often around the clock. But serving new demand requires more than securing electricity supply: utilities must also expand or upgrade the networks that transport electricity to customers.
Jacobs’ assignment will support AEP’s transmission portfolio across its Eastern region, although the companies have not identified which projects will fall under the new arrangement.
Existing projects illustrate the scale of grid upgrades
AEP’s broader transmission investment includes both upgrades to existing infrastructure and new high-capacity transmission facilities.
In October 2025, AEP Transmission closed on a $1.6 billion U.S. Department of Energy loan guarantee to support upgrades to nearly 5,000 miles of transmission lines across Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma and West Virginia. The program covers 126 projects involving the replacement or rebuilding of existing lines to increase their electricity-carrying capacity.
The Department of Energy estimated that the upgrades could increase transmission capacity by approximately 70% and create about 1,100 construction jobs.
AEP has also advanced transmission infrastructure intended to serve major new electricity users in Ohio. In March 2026, AEP Ohio, the Department of Energy and SB Energy outlined $4.2 billion in proposed electric infrastructure investments to support a planned 10-gigawatt data center campus at the former Portsmouth gaseous diffusion plant in Piketon.
The proposal includes new 765-kilovolt transmission infrastructure. SB Energy committed to covering the transmission investment costs associated with serving the planned campus, an arrangement intended to help protect other Ohio customers from rate increases. AEP Ohio expects electricity to begin flowing to the site in 2029, subject to regulatory approvals.
These projects demonstrate the different approaches utilities are taking to expand grid capacity: upgrading existing lines, building new transmission infrastructure and coordinating investment with the needs of major new customers.
AEP has not confirmed whether Jacobs will work on either of these initiatives. Its new assignment should not be conflated with the separate modernization program or the proposed Piketon infrastructure without confirmation from the companies.
Coordinating delivery across seven states
Jacobs will provide integrated program delivery services covering several stages of transmission project development. Project management and controls will support the coordination of budgets, schedules and execution, while engineering and design will establish technical requirements for individual projects.
The scope also includes siting, environmental services, public outreach and right-of-way work. These functions can be critical to transmission development because projects may require environmental assessments, land access agreements, regulatory approvals and engagement with communities along proposed routes.
Jacobs will lead an integrated team that includes ORC, GFT and RC Commonwealth, combining engineering, right-of-way and program delivery capabilities. PA Consulting, a Jacobs company, will support innovation initiatives aligned with AEP’s long-term strategic objectives.
The companies say the arrangement is intended to standardize and scale project delivery across AEP’s growing portfolio. A consistent approach can help coordinate work across multiple projects and states, although no specific cost, schedule or performance targets have been disclosed.
Jacobs brings experience in large energy infrastructure programs, including work as owner’s engineer for the Project Hostos high-voltage direct-current subsea interconnector and support for the Bonneville Power Administration’s Grand Coulee Modernization Program.
The new arrangement, however, has not yet been tied publicly to specific transmission lines, substations or construction packages. The companies have also not disclosed how many projects Jacobs will manage or how many miles of new or upgraded lines the work will cover.
Transmission costs remain an important consideration
As utilities expand their grids to serve large electricity users, the allocation of infrastructure costs has become a growing regulatory issue.
In June 2026, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission directed six regional grid operators to justify or reform their rules for connecting data centers and other large electricity consumers. The proceedings address how transmission and connection costs should be allocated, including protections for existing customers if a large customer cancels a project or leaves early.
AEP says its approach to large-load contracts is designed to ensure that new customers bear the incremental system costs associated with serving them. In its latest capital plan, the utility projected up to $21 billion in fixed-cost offsets for residential customers over the life of qualifying contracts in its vertically integrated states.
The proposed Piketon development illustrates one approach: SB Energy has committed to paying for the transmission investments required to serve its planned data center campus.
The Jacobs selection does not itself change electricity rates or establish how the costs of individual projects will be allocated. Those questions depend on the relevant customer agreements, regulatory requirements and project arrangements.
Project delivery will determine the pace of expansion
AEP’s investment plan sets out the scale of the transmission work it intends to pursue, while Jacobs’ selection adds program delivery capacity to support that effort.
The next milestones will be the identification of individual projects under the arrangement and the pace at which they move through engineering, siting, permitting and construction. Those details will help establish how the new delivery team fits into AEP’s existing modernization work and its plans for additional transmission infrastructure.
For now, the contract’s financial value, project-by-project assignments and completion schedules remain undisclosed. The broader objective is clear: AEP is preparing for a substantial expansion of its transmission network, and Jacobs will help coordinate the work needed to turn that investment plan into completed infrastructure.
Additionally, the scale of planned transmission investment reflects the growing challenge of supplying electricity to energy-intensive developments, including data centers. But expanding power infrastructure is only one part of bringing these projects forward. In DeSoto County, Florida, DCIP Group’s proposed data center campus has encountered local opposition, and county commissioners failed to approve two rezoning applications for its expansion. The dispute highlights how land-use decisions and community concerns can complicate data center development even as utilities plan major grid investments.
Project factsheet: AEP Eastern-region transmission expansion and modernization
- Utility: American Electric Power (AEP)
- Program delivery partner: Jacobs
- Geographic scope: Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia and Virginia
- Planned transmission investment: Approximately $37 billion through 2031
- Broader AEP capital plan: $100 billion for 2027–2031
- Jacobs’ services: Project management, project controls, engineering and design, siting, public outreach, right-of-way and environmental services
- Integrated delivery team: ORC, GFT and RC Commonwealth
- Additional support: PA Consulting
- Status: Delivery is underway and expected to ramp up
- Contract value: Not disclosed
- Individual project assignments: Not disclosed
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