Governor Janet T. Mills (D) Gives Her State of the State Address to the Maine Legislature Last Month in Augusta.

Governor Janet T. Mills (D) today announced the availability of $4.4 milion in Federal funds through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) to increase the resilience of Maine’s electrical grid to the effect of extreme storms.

The funds will be administered by the Governor’s Energy Office (GEO) through the Maine Grid Resilience Program which will support resilience projects such as weatherizing critical technology and equipment makng electrical infrastructure underground and improving vegetation and utility pole management among others.

The funds are after a series of severe winter storms in December and Janary caused significant devastation to communities, several millions of dollars in infrastructure damage and left hundreds of thousands of Mainers without power for several days across the state.

GEO was awarded these funds from the US Department of Energy through the BIL.  The Office anticipates receiving another $6.6 million in future BIL funding for additdidonal grid resilience projects in forthcomng years.

Eligible entities include electric utilities, electrcity generators, storage operators and others.  In addition to supporting grid resilience, the program aims to support Maine’s climate and clean energy goals and further expand Maine’s clean energy economy, which is the fastest growing in New England.

The request for applications to the program is available to view on the GEO website.  There will be an informational meeting on the program on February 28, 2024 and proposals are due March 28, 2024.