BEL’s technical support helps unlock $13.7M in infrastructure funds for Appalachian communities in Pennsylvania

ARC planning grant technical support helps unlock $13.7M in infrastructure funds for Appalachian communities in Pennsylvania

As part of the Appalachian Region Community-Owned Grid Resilient Infrastructure Project (ARCO-GRIP), ARC awardee the Beneficial Electrification League (BEL) worked to identify electric sector infrastructure investment needs for small community-owned utilities (municipal electric utilities and rural electric cooperatives) in the Appalachian region of Pennsylvania. Using a $500,000 planning grant from the ARC ARISE program, BEL evaluated available programs at USDA, EPA, DOE, and ARC to provide the needed investment.

When the state of PA announced that it was opening a grid resilience grant program under PA’s Section 40101(d) Formula Grant Program of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), BEL reviewed the details, and educated and informed key stakeholders, including the state-wide associations and joint action agencies for the cooperatives and municipal utilities (Pennsylvania Rural Electric Association, Pennsylvania Municipal Electric Association, and American Municipal Power). Working with these groups and directly with the community infrastructure providers, BEL identified and helped submit applications for over $35 million worth of electric infrastructure projects. In total, BEL helped applicants submit 8 Letters of Intent to the program for projects in ARC territory, and subsequently wrote, edited, or heavily reviewed their corresponding full applications.

The state released the results on July 30, totaling over $15 million in awards, with BEL having supported applications totaling just over $13.7 million to support infrastructure deployment in the Appalachian region of Pennsylvania.

Project overview:

• Northwestern Rural Electric Cooperative: $834,400 for the installation of a new transmission line with advanced smart grid technology will be constructed to add essential redundancy to the network. Through added back feed, power disruptions will go from days to seconds reducing total system outage time by 84 percent. (Erie, Crawford, Warren, and Venango Counties)

• United Electric Cooperative: $5,049,000 will fortify the electric grid across multiple counties in west-central Pennsylvania, the rural electric cooperative will revitalize an outdated substation using state-of-the-art materials and equipment, replace/relocate power lines increasing efficiency and capacity, implement smart grid technology, and conduct extensive tree trimming in targeted areas. (Jefferson, Clearfield, and Elk Counties).

• Claverack Rural Electric Cooperative: $2,145,000 for the installation of advanced satellite imagery and machine learning technology to provide comprehensive visibility of 2,800 miles of power lines. Additionally, over 50 smart grid devices will be implemented to increase control and visibility. The project will bring cooperative outage duration per member annually from over 34 hours to below 7 hours by 2028. (Bradford, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Lycoming, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, and Wyoming Counties).

• Sullivan County Rural Electric Cooperative: $3,300,000 to relocate and future-proof the electric substation by upgrading its capacity, adding weatherization, and smart grid technology. This project will reduce outage durations by 97 percent. (Sullivan County)

• Somerset Rural Electric Cooperative: $1,485,000 for the installation of additional power lines supported by smart grid technology. This project will result in 7.5 MW of renewable energy added into the service territory. (Somerset County).

• Tri-County Rural Electric Cooperative: $932,200 for the installation of smart grid technology and substation hardening to improve reliability and resilience. The project will give system operators a real-time, accurate visualization of the entire distribution grid remotely to troubleshoot and prevent system issues. Power outages in the territory will be reduced by 15 percent and outage time will be reduced by 20 percent. (Bradford, Tioga, and Potter Counties).

The Pennsylvania Electric Cooperatives expressed their gratitude for the technical assistance provided by the Appalachian Regional Commission via the planning grant to the Beneficial Electrification League. “We appreciate BEL’s support on behalf of our member systems,” said PREA/Allegheny President & CEO Steve Brame. “Electric cooperatives pride themselves on service reliability. The partnership with BEL on these infrastructure projects will help fortify the grid for cooperative communities in this region.”

“The hard work that BEL’s staff put into this application is how Claverack Rural Electric Cooperative was able to secure this funding,” said Nick Berger, Senior Director / VP of Engineering and Operations at Claverack REC.

John Lykens, CEO of Sullivan County REC echoed the sentiment, “Sullivan County REC appreciates BEL assistance with this grant process.”

“Tri-County Rural Electric Cooperative appreciates the technical assistance, partnership and guidance provided by BEL to help develop and support our application,” said Michael Hanawalt, Director of Economic Development and Member Engagement at Tri-County REC.

“The work that BEL was able to provide to assist with this grant process was very helpful, and Somerset REC appreciates the support,” said Rus Ogburn, General Manager at Somerset REC.

“The Beneficial Electrification League was honored to have received the planning grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission to help secure electric infrastructure investment in rural America,” said BEL President Keith Dennis. “The team that supported these efforts has been working in states across ARC territory, and we are looking forward to future announcements and to continued support in this important investment in Appalachia.”

For more information see this article here.