July 14, 2023 10:40 a.m.

Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley have announced that Oregon will receive nearly $20 million to perform crucial updates to the electrical grid in low-income communities and on Tribal land.

Wyden said, “Oregon families without means and Tribal families in Oregon have been on the front lines of the climate emergency in their communities – some losing power for days due to winter storms and others losing acres of land from wildfires sparked by aging powerlines”. Wyden said, “The climate fight must include a significant investment in making our power grid more resilient to extreme weather events, especially for families trying to make ends meet and the Tribes that have inhabited this land since time immemorial. We cannot wait to act on this public safety issue”.

Merkley said, “Oregonians shouldn’t have to worry about their life being at risk because they’ve been stranded for days or weeks on end without electricity or because a stray power line spark started a catastrophic wildfire”. “Merkley said, “Especially as summer droughts and intense winter storms become more common, now is the time to invest in our power grid and reduce the chance of outages or sparks”.

A joint release said the U.S. Department of Energy awarded nine states and three Tribal nations a combined total of $207.6 million in federal grants, funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. These grants will help modernize the electric grid to reduce impacts of extreme weather and natural disasters while also ensuring power sector reliability. Wyden and Merkley said this will ensure all communities have access to affordable, reliable, clean electricity.