Established by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, grant will enhance grid flexibility and improve the resilience of Maine’s power grid against growing threats of extreme weather
ORANGE, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#CleanEnergy–Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE: AGR), a leading sustainable energy company and member of the Iberdrola Group, today announced that its subsidiary, Central Maine Power (CMP), secured a $30 million grant, awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Grid Deployment Office under the Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) program. Established by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the grant funding will position CMP to accelerate the deployment of smart grid technologies that reduce the frequency and impact of power outages.
The new technology will include advanced grid restoration (AGR) and sequential reclosing (SR). These innovative, “self-healing” technologies are designed to reduce the frequency and impact of outages. The grant will also allow deployment of the distribution supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) switch program to help prevent system faults, particularly to disadvantaged communities.
“As our customers continue to change the way they use electricity, we are committed to strengthening our electrical system so it can handle increased threats from climate change. At the same time, we are transforming our grid to continue supporting Maine’s significant economic growth, new distributed resources like solar power, and electrification,” said Pedro Azagra, CEO of Avangrid. “This work to build a strong, modern, and clean electric grid is for our customers. I want to thank the Biden Administration for their climate action leadership and the Department of Energy for selecting our talented team for this grant award.”
“Extreme weather events fueled by climate change will continue to strain the nation’s aging transmission systems, but President Biden’s Investing in America agenda will ensure America’s power grid can provide reliable, affordable power,” said U.S Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “Today’s announcement represents the largest-ever direct investment in critical grid infrastructure, supporting projects that will harden systems, improve energy reliability and affordability—all while generating union jobs for highly skilled workers.”
This grant will increase the flexibility, efficiency, reliability, and resilience of Central Maine Power’s electric grid while ensuring a variety of community-level benefits, especially for disadvantaged communities. Specifically, it will:
- Increase system reliability
- Enhance ability to identify faults and minimize outages
- Mitigate impacts of extreme weather or natural disasters
- Aggregate and integrate energy resources like solar
- Create up to 100 jobs across a variety of sectors during the project’s duration
Avangrid is appreciative of the support from the Maine Development Foundation, the Governor’s Energy Office, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Central Maine Growth Council, Kennebec Valley Community College, and the Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce during the grant application process.
For more information, visit U.S. Department of Energy’s Grid Deployment Office.
About Central Maine Power: Central Maine Power Company (CMP), a subsidiary of Avangrid, Inc., is Maine’s largest electricity transmission and distribution utility. Established in 1899 and based in Augusta, Maine, CMP serves approximately 646,000 customers across 346 communities in central and southern Maine. It operates approximately 23,500 miles of distribution lines and 2,900 miles of transmission lines. Over the last decade, the company has invested approximately $3.5 billion in Maine system infrastructure. For more information, visit www.cmpco.com.
About Avangrid: Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE: AGR) aspires to be the leading sustainable energy company in the United States. Headquartered in Orange, CT with approximately $41 billion in assets and operations in 24 U.S. states, Avangrid has two primary lines of business: networks and renewables. Through its networks business, Avangrid owns and operates eight electric and natural gas utilities, serving more than 3.3 million customers in New York and New England. Through its renewables business, Avangrid owns and operates a portfolio of renewable energy generation facilities across the United States. Avangrid employs more than 7,500 people and has been recognized by JUST Capital in 2021, 2022 and 2023 as one of the JUST 100 companies – a ranking of America’s best corporate citizens. In 2023, Avangrid ranked first within the utility sector for its commitment to the environment. The company supports the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals and was named among the World’s Most Ethical Companies in 2023 for the fifth consecutive year by the Ethisphere Institute. Avangrid is a member of the group of companies controlled by Iberdrola, S.A. For more information, visit www.avangrid.com.
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