ARLINGTON, Va. – The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, Georgia Transmission Corporation and a consortium of 11 rural electric utilities from across the country were today selected to negotiate contracts for over $97 million in federal infrastructure funding from the Department of Energy (DOE) Grid Resilience and Innovative Partnerships (GRIP) program.
“Electric cooperatives are leaders in finding innovative ways to reliably power their communities,” said NRECA CEO Jim Matheson. “This federal funding is an important tool as they work to meet tomorrow’s energy needs. As electricity demand in the U.S. continues to increase, upgrading and building new transmission will be critical. Electric co-ops are working together to reliably meet these increased energy needs.”
NRECA’s consortium will accelerate completion of high-priority transmission projects at 12 rural electric utilities across the country. Recent estimates find 200,000 miles of existing transmission lines will require replacement over the next decade. Consortium members will execute 13 transmission newbuild/upgrade subprojects to cost effectively increase their transmission system resilience and transfer capacity for renewable generation interconnection.
The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association is the national trade association representing nearly 900 local electric cooperatives. From growing suburbs to remote farming communities, electric co-ops serve as engines of economic development for 42 million Americans across 56 percent of the nation’s landscape. As local businesses built by the consumers they serve, electric cooperatives have meaningful ties to rural America and invest $15 billion annually in their communities.
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