Energy Department Announces $1.9 Billion for Projects Strengthening Power Grid

States and utilities can submit applications to secure funding by May 20, with the department set to select projects by August.
st
Naveen Athrappully
Reporter

3/14/2026|Updated: 3/14/2026

The Department of Energy (DOE) has announced a $1.9 billion funding opportunity for projects aimed at speeding up improvements to the nation’s power grid to meet rising electricity demand while bringing down costs, the department said in a March 12 statement.

The money comes from the $10.5 billion authorized for a five-year grid resilience program under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021. The funds were to be disbursed to states and electric utilities over five years.

The DOE will prioritize projects that replace existing power lines with higher‑capacity conductors, expand grid capacity, increase efficiency, lower prices for consumers, and improve overall system reliability and security, the statement said.

Project applications to secure funding are due by May 20, with the DOE set to select projects by August.

The funding opportunity will stabilize and optimize grid operations, strengthening it for rapid growth, said Katie Jereza, assistant secretary at the DOE’s Office of Electricity.

Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said, “For too long, important grid modernization and energy addition efforts were not prioritized by past leaders.

“Thanks to President [Donald] Trump, we are doing the important work of modernizing our grid so electricity costs will be lowered for American families and businesses.”

DOE said its latest action was in compliance with the Jan. 20, 2025, executive order signed by Trump—“Unleashing American Energy.”

In the order, Trump said burdensome and ideologically motivated regulations have impeded the development of America’s vast energy resources, leading to high energy costs for citizens and limited generation of reliable, affordable electricity.

The president ordered an immediate review of all agency actions that potentially burden the development of domestic energy resources.

Electricity Demand

The $1.9 billion funding to strengthen America’s grid comes amid concerns about the state of the country’s power infrastructure.
A significant portion of the power network dates back to the 1960s and ‘70s, according to an October 2023 statement from the DOE. As of 2023, 70 percent of transmission lines were over 25 years old and nearing the end of their life cycles.

“This has major consequences on our communities: power outages, susceptibility to cyberattacks, or community emergencies caused by faulty grid infrastructure,” the department said at the time.

The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers, which require large amounts of electricity, adds to the problem.

In a March 5 statement, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said that much of the recent growth in electricity demand “comes from the commercial sector, which includes data centers, and the industrial sector, which includes manufacturing establishments.”
To prevent data center electricity consumption from spiking costs for residential users, Trump announced in late February that the tech companies have committed to a “rate payer protection pledge” where they will pay more for electricity used to power data centers.

In addition, these companies can “build their own power plants as part of their factory, so that no one’s prices will go up and, in many cases, prices of electricity will go down for the community, and very substantially down,” the president said.

Earlier this month, representatives from major tech companies—Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle, and xAI—signed the ratepayer protection pledge.
There are also concerns about the increasing share of renewable energy in power generation and the declining share of fossil fuels. Back in July, Trump had signed an executive order ending federal subsidies for wind and solar power projects, citing the unreliability of these power sources.

Trump has also taken steps to boost America’s coal sector, including signing an executive order in April last year seeking to reinvigorate the industry.

“We must encourage and support our Nation’s coal industry to increase our energy supply, lower electricity costs, stabilize our grid, create high-paying jobs, support burgeoning industries, and assist our allies,” the order said.

Electricity output grew in the first year of the Trump administration. In 2025, net electricity generation in the United States hit a record high, rising by 2.8 percent from the previous year, the EIA said earlier this month.

Last year’s power generation growth “contrasts with the trend of relatively flat electricity generation between the mid-2000s and early 2020s,” the agency stated.

“Thanks to President [Donald] Trump, we are doing the important work of modernizing our grid so electricity costs will be lowered for American families and businesses.”

DOE said its latest action was in compliance with the Jan. 20, 2025, executive order signed by Trump—“Unleashing American Energy.”

In the order, Trump said burdensome and ideologically motivated regulations have impeded the development of America’s vast energy resources, leading to high energy costs for citizens and limited generation of reliable, affordable electricity.

The president ordered an immediate review of all agency actions that potentially burden the development of domestic energy resources.

Electricity Demand

The $1.9 billion funding to strengthen America’s grid comes amid concerns about the state of the country’s power infrastructure.
A significant portion of the power network dates back to the 1960s and ‘70s, according to an October 2023 statement from the DOE. As of 2023, 70 percent of transmission lines were over 25 years old and nearing the end of their life cycles.

“This has major consequences on our communities: power outages, susceptibility to cyberattacks, or community emergencies caused by faulty grid infrastructure,” the department said at the time.

The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers, which require large amounts of electricity, adds to the problem.

In a March 5 statement, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said that much of the recent growth in electricity demand “comes from the commercial sector, which includes data centers, and the industrial sector, which includes manufacturing establishments.”
To prevent data center electricity consumption from spiking costs for residential users, Trump announced in late February that the tech companies have committed to a “rate payer protection pledge” where they will pay more for electricity used to power data centers.

In addition, these companies can “build their own power plants as part of their factory, so that no one’s prices will go up and, in many cases, prices of electricity will go down for the community, and very substantially down,” the president said.

Earlier this month, representatives from major tech companies—Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle, and xAI—signed the ratepayer protection pledge.
There are also concerns about the increasing share of renewable energy in power generation and the declining share of fossil fuels. Back in July, Trump had signed an executive order ending federal subsidies for wind and solar power projects, citing the unreliability of these power sources.

Trump has also taken steps to boost America’s coal sector, including signing an executive order in April last year seeking to reinvigorate the industry.

“We must encourage and support our Nation’s coal industry to increase our energy supply, lower electricity costs, stabilize our grid, create high-paying jobs, support burgeoning industries, and assist our allies,” the order said.

Electricity output grew in the first year of the Trump administration. In 2025, net electricity generation in the United States hit a record high, rising by 2.8 percent from the previous year, the EIA said earlier this month.

Last year’s power generation growth “contrasts with the trend of relatively flat electricity generation between the mid-2000s and early 2020s,” the agency stated.

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U.S. Sen Angus King

THE UNTOLD STORY OF RECORD HILL WIND

The Untold Story of Record Hill Wind, continued

 

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CMP Transmission Rate Skyrockets 19.6% Due to Wind Power

 

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Maine Center For Public Interest Reporting – Three Part Series: A CRITICAL LOOK AT MAINE’S WIND ACT

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(excerpts) From Part 1 – On Maine’s Wind Law “Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine if the law’s goals were met." . – Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, August 2010 https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/From Part 2 – On Wind and Oil Yet using wind energy doesn’t lower dependence on imported foreign oil. That’s because the majority of imported oil in Maine is used for heating and transportation. And switching our dependence from foreign oil to Maine-produced electricity isn’t likely to happen very soon, says Bartlett. “Right now, people can’t switch to electric cars and heating – if they did, we’d be in trouble.” So was one of the fundamental premises of the task force false, or at least misleading?" https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-swept-task-force-set-the-rules/From Part 3 – On Wind-Required New Transmission Lines Finally, the building of enormous, high-voltage transmission lines that the regional electricity system operator says are required to move substantial amounts of wind power to markets south of Maine was never even discussed by the task force – an omission that Mills said will come to haunt the state.“If you try to put 2,500 or 3,000 megawatts in northern or eastern Maine – oh, my god, try to build the transmission!” said Mills. “It’s not just the towers, it’s the lines – that’s when I begin to think that the goal is a little farfetched.” https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/flaws-in-bill-like-skating-with-dull-skates/

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Hannah Pingree on the Maine expedited wind law

Hannah Pingree - Director of Maine's Office of Innovation and the Future

"Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine."

https://pinetreewatch.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/

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