The Gahanna-Jefferson Public Schools will feel the jolt of a new American Electric Power rate plan that could cost the district an additional $1.4 million for electricity this year.

District public-information officer Michael Straughter said Gahanna-Jefferson is continuing to review the AEP agreement with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO), but initial conversations with the district’s energy and mechanical consultant, Limbach Inc., show the district could face annual energy costs of up to $2.4 million, compared to $1 million last year.

AEP spokesman Jeff Rennie said the new rates are the result of a compromise reached last year among AEP, PUCO and many other companies and groups.

“Rates were adjusted to reflect how a competitive market would price various types of customers,” he said. “The adjusted rates reflect how they would be treated in a competitive environment. They’re billed on a per-kilowatt basis and would see the change on their January bill.”

Rennie said school districts like G-J fall into what’s considered a “low-load-factor customer,” meaning the amount of electricity G-J consumes occurs only during peak hours, such as during the school day. At other times, the district uses much less electricity.

If usage cannot be spread out evenly, lower-load factors result in higher-demand costs, increasing the overall cost of electricity.

Rennie said such high-load users as an industrial facility consume electricity every hour of the day, so they tend to get a break over the low-load customer.

Straughter said the district expects cost increases across the board for all 15 district buildings, including the bus compound, the central office and school buildings. He said GJPS does not receive a single electric bill for all of its buildings, but the facilities are billed on varying tariffs — the price at which electricity is sold — and it’s based on many variables, including usage patterns.

G-J business-affairs director Scott Schmidt said the district would continue to seek ways to minimize the financial impact to the classroom. He said the district is continuing an analysis of possible solar-energy use from Solar Planet of Columbus. The board in December adopted a resolution to apply for the House Bill 264 Energy Conservation Program/Ohio School Facilities Commission to upgrade existing school facilities to become more energy efficient. He said the district incorporated energy-saving initiatives, including LED parking-lot lights and room-occupancy sensors in Clark Hall.

AEP presented a $28,513.45 rebate check to the district last month for the green initiatives that went into the building of Clark Hall. Schmidt said the district also would continue ongoing work with an environmental committee that’s working to reduce energy costs and is launching an energy-reduction competition.