KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The United States Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded nearly $14 million in grant funds to Missouri for the state to improve its electric infrastructure.
The funds are available through the DOE's Grid Resilience State and Tribal Formula Grant program, and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources' (DNR) Division of Energy will distribute the funds to enhance the reliability of the power sector infrastructure across the state while also providing access to "affordable and resilient electricity services."
“The Grid Resilience Formula Grants will enable communities in Missouri to protect households and businesses from blackouts or power shutdowns during extreme weather,” said Maria Robinson, director of DOE’s Grid Deployment Office, in a press release. “Projects selected through this program will benefit communities by creating good-paying jobs to deliver clean, affordable and reliable energy across the country.”
This announcement comes nearly two weeks after Missouri Gov. Mike Parson activated the Missouri State Emergency Operations Plan in response to recent severe weather and just one week after he announced his plan to seek federal assistance for damage created by the same round of storms.
Strong winds have resulted in hundreds of thousands of Missouri residents losing power over the course of the last month, per a press release from the governor's office.
The press release announcing the $14 million grant acknowledged Missouri's subjection to severe weather, and noted how these funds should help communities retain their power during such events.
The grant was made available through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and recipients are chosen based on population size, land area, probability, severity of disruptive events and a locality's historical expenditures on mitigation efforts, according to a DNR press release.
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