The electrical system in low-income areas and on tribal lands will receive roughly $20 million, according to Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, who made the announcement.
“Oregon families without means and Tribal families in Oregon have been on the front lines of the climate emergency in their communities,” Wyden said. “Some lost power for days due to winter storms, and others lost acres of land from wildfires sparked by aging powerlines.”
In particular for struggling families and the Tribes who have lived on this land for ages, Wyden stated, “The climate fight must include a big investment in making our electricity grid more resilient to extreme weather events. We need to address this public safety concern immediately.
“Oregonians shouldn’t have to worry that their life is in danger because they’ve been stranded without electricity for days or weeks on end or because a stray power line spark started a catastrophic wildfire,” Merkley said. “Merkley stated, “Now is the time to invest in our power grid and reduce the likelihood of outages or sparks, especially as summer droughts and severe winter storms become more frequent.”
Here is the tweet related to the news confirmed by KPIC News:
Low-income communities and tribal lands will receive nearly $20-million for electrical grid improvements, Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced Thursday. #livekpichttps://t.co/lyLYSBACFW
— KPIC News (@KPICNews1) July 13, 2023
According to a joint press statement, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law-funded U.S. Department of Energy gave awards totaling $207.6 million to nine states and three tribal countries.
These awards will contribute to the modernization of the electric system, reducing the effects of extreme weather and natural calamities while also assuring the dependability of the power sector. This, according to Wyden and Merkley, will guarantee that all communities have access to reasonably priced, dependable, clean electricity.
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