Gov. Greg Abbott announced more than $8.8 million in Texas Energy Fund grants on June 26 to bolster electric reliability for members of Lamb County Electric Cooperative, Inc. in the South Plains, funding a package of four projects ranging from transmission line replacement to expanded transformer capacity.
The grants, awarded through the Public Utility Commission of Texas, will support infrastructure upgrades intended to improve service and accommodate regional growth, according to a June 26 news release from the governor’s office. The funding flows through the Texas Energy Fund’s Outside ERCOT Grant Program, which the PUCT administers to improve reliability and resiliency for Texans served by utilities outside the ERCOT grid region.
“Texas is the national leader in energy because we prioritize electrical projects that directly impact the homes and businesses of Texans,” Abbott said in the release. “These grants will help ensure communities across the South Plains have the reliable energy they need today and in the future.”
Two of the projects will replace a total of 13.5 miles of aging transmission line, improving continuity of service, reducing required maintenance and lowering wildfire risk, the release said. Another project will install a new transformer at the Opdyke Substation, increasing the facility’s capacity to distribute electricity and modernizing control systems to allow faster response and restoration during emergencies. Nearly 2,400 cooperative members in Lamb and Hockley counties are expected to benefit.
PUCT Chairman Thomas Gleeson said the work pairs added capacity with new reliability protections. “Increasing capacity to distribute electricity and adding reliability protections is a powerful combination for the region’s future,” he said in the release. Lamb County Electric Cooperative General Manager and CEO Blake Moore said the award would let the cooperative improve its infrastructure while keeping rates low. “This award will allow us to improve our infrastructure and help us keep our rates low to provide the service our members expect from their cooperative,” Moore said.
The announcement is the latest in a series of Texas Energy Fund awards aimed at shoring up the state’s electric grid. Additional information on the program is available through the PUCT, the governor’s office said.