Utility CEO Sees Silver Lining in Working at Home: Saving Money

(Bloomberg) -- American Electric Power Co. Chief Executive Officer Nick Akins sees one potential upside to the coronavirus shutdown: it could lead to cheaper, more efficient ways to work.

AEP’s productivity hasn’t dropped during the pandemic even as about 70% of its employees -- or 12,000 people -- are working at home, Akins said Wednesday on a call with analysts. It could lead to ways to trim the $4 billion spent annually by the Columbus, Ohio-based company on operations and maintenance.

“If there is a silver lining in the Coronavirus pandemic, it is that we can really reevaluate what it means to get our business done, because we’ve been very effective at people working from home,” Akins said on the call.

To be clear, the virus is taking a toll on AEP. It expects its commercial electric load this year to drop 6% and its industrial load to fall 8%. AEP forecasts residential load, however, will rise 3%.

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