DETROIT, MI - U.S. Senators Gary Peters (MI) and Debbie Stabenow (MI) announced that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will be awarding the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy $14,934,332 in federal funding to modernize the state’s electrical grid and strengthen it against extreme weather events and natural disasters. The funding is provided through the Preventing Outages and Enhancing the Resilience of the Electrical Grid Grants program, which was established by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law the senators helped enact. 

“It’s critical we ensure that Michigan’s electrical grid is able to withstand severe weather, the impacts of climate change and other disruptive events,” said Senator Peters. “These investments, which are available through the bipartisan infrastructure law Senator Stabenow and I helped enact, will provide necessary updates to harden the grid and protect Michiganders from losing power.”  

“Michigan knows firsthand how more frequent extreme weather events – a direct result of the climate crisis – are taking a toll on our state’s electrical grid. This funding is another critical infrastructure investment coming to our state that will help ensure that Michigan households can count on having power, no matter the forecast,” said Senator Stabenow. 

“This grant will help us build a more resistant electric grid so Michiganders have access to reliable power that meets their needs,” said Governor Gretchen Whitmer. “We are grateful to our federal partners and President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for securing these critical resources. Together, we will invest in our communities, upgrade old power lines and electrical equipment, replace cables, and so much more. Let’s keep working together to deliver on the goals of the MI Healthy Climate Plan—including replacing aging grid infrastructure—and build a brighter future so anyone can ‘make it’ in Michigan.”

The funding will be used for projects such as hardening power lines and electric facilities, improving flood prevention and recovery systems, replacing electric cables, moving critical infrastructure facilities underground to protect them from extreme weather, and projects to increase battery storage and electrical capacity.

More information on Preventing Outages and Enhancing the Resilience of the Electrical Grid Grants program can be found at https://www.energy.gov/gdo/preventing-outages-and-enhancing-resilience-electric-grid-grants. 

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