Governor Greg Abbott announced a nearly $30 million Texas Energy Fund grant to strengthen electric reliability for members of Rita Blanca Electric Cooperative in the northwestern corner of the Texas Panhandle, according to a June 29 news release from the Office of the Governor.
The award flows through the Texas Energy Fund’s Outside ERCOT Grant Program, which the Public Utility Commission of Texas administers to improve reliability and resiliency for Texans served by electric utilities outside the ERCOT grid. State officials cast the investment as a way to extend dependable power to a rural, agricultural stretch of the state.
According to the release, the grant will help fund construction of a new substation, automation of an existing substation, transformer improvements, and the replacement of wood poles with steel structures. The cooperative’s service territory covers Dallam, Hartley, Hutchinson, Moore and Sherman counties. The agency said the upgrades would strengthen distribution equipment, improve storm response, reduce wildfire risk and shorten power restoration times when outages occur.
“Every corner of our state deserves to have a strong, reliable energy infrastructure built to serve the needs of Texans,” Governor Abbott said in the release. “This grant will help ensure that families and businesses across the Panhandle have the electrical capabilities to thrive in their community.”
Public Utility Commission of Texas Chairman Thomas Gleeson said the project would “strengthen virtually every aspect of reliability” for the co-op’s members in their homes, businesses, farms and ranches, and noted that the long-lasting improvements would support future growth in the region. Rita Blanca Electric Cooperative CEO and General Manager Grace Subealdea said the cooperative was grateful for the grant and the opportunity to invest in system improvements that “will enhance reliability and better serve our membership for years to come.”
The Public Utility Commission administers the Texas Energy Fund’s Outside ERCOT Grant Program, which funds projects that improve electric reliability and resiliency for utilities outside the ERCOT region, the agency said. State officials said the Panhandle project is intended to bolster economic resilience for the region’s rural communities by reducing outage risks in the years ahead.