Senior Vice President – Grid Solutions
Antonio Smyth is senior vice president of Grid Solutions at American Electric Power. Smyth leads the origination and planning of AEP’s multi-billion dollar infrastructure investment programs across electric generation, transmission, distribution and telecommunications. He is also responsible for the commercial development of new grid resources, including the corporation’s investments in large-scale renewable energy projects, competitive transmission, energy storage, and emerging technologies. He leads the corporation’s regulatory and policy activity at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and AEP’s four Regional Transmission Organizations. Smyth is also responsible for the management and all aspects of electric service for AEP’s $5 billion transmission joint venture utility companies across the U.S.
Smyth has extensive experience in executive leadership in the energy business. Throughout the past 22-years, he has held positions of increasing responsibility at AEP and has testified as an expert on electric industry matters before federal and state authorities. Prior to his current role, he was senior vice president of Transmission Ventures, Strategy and Policy, where he led transmission strategy, finance, commercial development activities, and federal regulatory and policy for AEP’s $26 billion electric transmission business. Smyth has also served in key leadership roles in the Strategic Initiatives organization, which is responsible for corporate strategy and mergers and acquisitions, and in the Corporate Finance organization, which is responsible for balance sheet management, debt and equity capital markets and rating agency activities for AEP’s parent and subsidiary operating companies.
Smyth serves as the chair of the board of the Reliability First Corporation in Cleveland and is a member of the Compensation Committee. He also serves as a board member of Electric Transmission Texas, LLC, a $3.5 billion electric infrastructure joint venture between AEP and Berkshire Hathaway Energy. Smyth is a trustee of the Center of Science and Industry (COSI) in Columbus, Ohio, and co-chairs AEP's Black Employee Resource Group.
Smyth is a United States military veteran and earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and master’s degree in applied economics from The Ohio State University. He has completed the executive leadership program at the Fisher College of Business at Ohio State University and director certification through the National Association of Corporate Directors. He and his wife have two daughters and reside in Columbus.