The Natural Resources Subcommittee for Ways and Means on April 28 heard an informational briefing from Janine Benner, director of the Oregon Department of Energy, about a federal grid resilience grant program that will fund utility projects to reduce outages, prevent wildfire ignitions, and strengthen distribution infrastructure.

The federal program, authorized by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and supplemented by other federal funding streams, has allocated $50 million to Oregon over five years, ODOE told the committee. For the first Oregon opportunity announcement, the agency opened nearly $18.9 million in funding and selected 13 utility projects; the U.S. Department of Energy has approved nine of those projects and five performance agreements are fully executed.

Janine Benner, director of the Oregon Department of Energy, said, “This is a program that funds grid resilience projects around the state through a combination of federal, state and utility dollars.” She described activities eligible for funding as including vegetation management, undergrounding of electric equipment, remote monitoring and control, microgrids and battery storage subcomponents, and other hardening measures for lines, facilities and substations.

Why it matters: the grants aim to reduce outage duration and wildfire risk by strengthening distribution systems in areas exposed to natural hazards. ODOE estimated the first round of federal investments will leverage roughly $20 million in utility funds, creating nearly $38 million directed to grid resilience in Oregon. The program is reimbursement-based: utilities build projects and then seek reimbursement through ODOE, which in turn requests funds from the federal government.

Key program rules and near-term status

- The U.S. Department of Energy allocated $50 million to Oregon over five years; ODOE has been awarded years 1–3 so far. ODOE opened an opportunity announcement for about $18.9 million and received 13 applications.

- Federal and state match requirements: utilities must meet matching requirements to accept award funds. Small utilities are required to provide a 33% match; large utilities must match at 100%. Federal rules also require a state match of 15% over the life of the grant program; ODOE quantified that as about $7.5 million over five years and approximately $4.6 million for the first three years of award funding.

- Set-aside for small utilities: while roughly 25% of Oregon customers are served by small utilities, ODOE set aside 40% of the funding for small utilities based on public feedback and outreach.

- Approvals and agreements: ODOE has selected 13 utility projects for the first opportunity announcement; U.S. DOE has approved nine of those and five performance agreements have been executed. ODOE cited some delays tied to federal executive orders and uncertainty about funding availability but said projects are moving through the process.

Examples from the first round

Benner highlighted two rural electric cooperative projects as illustrative examples.

- Columbia Power Cooperative Association (serving parts of Wheeler, Grant and Umatilla counties): a $1,770,000 project that includes two years of vegetation management across hundreds of miles, remote-controlled circuit breakers and upgraded fuses, replacement of at least 200 older poles, inspection drones, communications upgrades and conversion of a service truck to a fire suppression/response vehicle. Columbia Power plans to contribute about $440,000 in personnel, contracting and purchases as its match and qualify for about $1,330,000 in grant dollars.

- Columbia Basin Electric Cooperative (serving Morrow, Umatilla, Gilliam, Wheeler and Sherman counties): a $933,000 project to move roughly 10 miles of overhead line underground in high-wind, storm-prone areas. The co-op plans to contribute about $233,000 and qualify for approximately $700,000 in grant funding.

Other signed performance agreements include Coos-Curry Electric Cooperative, the City of Forest Grove and Columbia River People’s Utility District. Prospective awardees still working through performance agreements include Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative, Pacific Power, the City of Drain, Eugene Water & Electric Board, Mid-State Electric Cooperative, Umatilla Electric Cooperative, Portland General Electric and Idaho Power.

Budget and legislative items

Benner told the committee the Legislature has allocated just over $3 million in state match to date and that ODOE has spent $535,510 on program administration so far. ODOE’s budget includes a POP (package) requesting $1,000,000 toward the $1,600,000 year-3 match requirement.

Two bills relevant to long-term match and program flexibility were cited during the briefing. Benner named SB 828 (to set up a dedicated fund for the state match so it remains available across biennia) and HB 2566 (which would allow ODOE’s Community Renewable Energy Grant Program, C-REP, to support some grid resilience projects that lack a renewable-energy component and therefore could be used as match). Both bills were described as proposals under consideration; no committee action on either bill was taken during the informational hearing.

Timing, risks and administrative notes

When asked about deadlines and risk if federal funding changed, Clay Deckard, senior incentives analyst at ODOE, said, “the program goes till 2032,” and that ODOE expects projects to complete within that timeframe. Benner explained the program’s reimbursement model and acknowledged some risk from federal-level changes; she described options ODOE can use if costs rise or project scope must change, including seeking amendments with U.S. DOE to adjust scope or match requirements.

On escalation of materials costs, ODOE staff said the agency cannot routinely increase awarded grant amounts without federal approval; utilities were expected to plan contingencies and discuss options with the agency if cost pressures required changes.

Undergrounding and technology questions

Committee members asked how common undergrounding is in Oregon and whether high-voltage lines are being undergrounded. Benner and agency staff said undergrounding has been used in Oregon, particularly in parts of the Portland metropolitan area, and noted it is expensive. Clay Deckard suggested ODOE could follow up with the Public Utilities Commission and utilities to provide a fuller history and inventory of undergrounding projects and plans.

Next steps and committee schedule

Benner said ODOE will continue to finalize performance agreements as U.S. DOE approves projects and will prepare for the next application window for year-4 funds when federal confirmation and timing are available. The subcommittee staff noted the next meeting on the calendar is April 30, a work session on other natural-resources-related bills.

Ending

The informational hearing closed after roughly a half-hour of presentation and questions. No formal committee votes were taken during the April 28 session.