I am excited to announce that the more than 330 Recovery Act-funded projects that the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability has been managing over the past five years have been successfully completed, with major improvements to the grid now in place across America. Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the Energy Department invested more than $31 billion in a wide range of projects nationwide. The DOE investment included $4.5 billion for modernization of the nation’s electric grid. With matching private funding from the electric sector, the investment in grid modernization totaled about $9.5 billion.
From the beginning, the Recovery Act investment was intended to energize industry and help accelerate work being done so that investments would go farther and so faster progress could be made in transforming our aging infrastructure into a system that better supports American consumers and a vibrant, growing economy. And now, I’m pleased to say that our nation’s grid today is more reliable, resilient, flexible, efficient and secure. In Florida, for example, Florida Power & Light customers now have more reliable service and faster restoration of service. In Tennessee, improved reliability is saving residents and businesses of Chattanooga about $50 million a year. In a small Texas town and in the Tehachapi Mountains of California, integration of renewable energy is happening, thanks to two projects in which energy storage is smoothing the intermittent nature of wind by storing excess energy and providing it to the grid to meet customer demand.
These are just a few of the many successful projects that have delivered a range of major benefits to the nation and advanced the grid significantly. I hope you’ll take a moment to read our fact sheet that describes in more detail how the Recovery Act investment has allowed Americans to start experiencing the benefits of the future grid today. Additional information on individual projects is available on our website and on smartgrid.gov. While much work remains to be done to modernize our electricity system, the Recovery Act has made a vital difference in moving us forward.
Stay tuned as the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability continues driving national efforts to modernize the electricity delivery system, enhance the security and reliability of America’s energy infrastructure, and facilitate recovery from disruptions to the energy supply.
