PORT ARTHUR, Texas – Entergy Texas is seeking federal grants for the second year in a row to improve the resiliency of the power grid in Port Arthur, Texas.
In April of this year, the company updated its application for the U.S. Department of Energy‘s Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships Program and aims to secure funding for a $107.5 million infrastructure and electrical grid hardening project. If approved, the funds would help protect the power grid from extreme weather events, which have historically affected Port Arthur.
“The City of Port Arthur has endured numerous extreme weather events, including two of the most historic weather events in our country―Hurricane Harvey and Winter Storm Uri,” said Thurman Bartie, mayor of Port Arthur. “Since 2020, at least four major hurricanes have impacted our communities and caused widespread power outages. We’re thankful Entergy Texas continues to seek out cost-effective solutions to help strengthen the power grid and improve resiliency in our communities.”
The proposed project includes plans to strengthen 57 transmission structures, harden or underground at least 950 distribution structures, and pilot a self-healing microgrid solution to bridge short-term outages by interconnecting a utility-scale battery to an existing substation, a news release said. These improvements are expected to benefit Port Arthur customers by reducing the duration of power outages following significant weather events by 257 million minutes and decrease future storm restoration costs by an estimated $74 million over the next 50 years. DOE is set to announce GRIP award winners this fall. Winning submissions will receive funding for half of the project’s cost, helping to maintain affordable rates for customers.
“We’re committed to balancing customer affordability with critical investments to strengthen our power grid, which is why we are fighting for every dollar of federal and state funding available to mitigate the impact on customer bills,” said Eliecer Viamontes, president and CEO of Entergy Texas. “Given that the Gulf Coast is home to world-class infrastructure, seven of the top 20 U.S. ports, and a growing industrial customer base, government investments in the resilience of Entergy Texas’ power grid would benefit the entire country.”
Entergy Texas applied for GRIP funding in 2023 for the same Port Arthur grid resiliency project but the application was not selected. The company’s 2024 application incorporates feedback from the DOE, and its employees continue to attend the agency’s energy justice-focused events to engage with community members, elected officials, utility board members, advocacy organizations, and local government officials.
The company intentionally selected the proposed Pear Ridge-Kolbs-Lakeview project site due to its potential to reduce the energy burden in a community where over 94% of residents are classified as “disadvantaged” according to federal guidelines. Further, this area includes the Bowers Civic Center, a major storm shelter during extreme weather events.
“Port Arthur is a central location for the U.S. petroleum industry, home to the largest oil refinery in North America and also multiple LNG export terminals,” explained Ron Burton, city manager for the City of Port Arthur. “The local workforce and resilient electric power are vital for these key industries, as any outages can have far-reaching impacts across the region.”
Entergy Texas has committed to delivering on the DOE’s Justice40 principles to ensure equitable access to affordable, clean energy. As part of the grid hardening project, the company has developed a community benefits plan and committed to establishing a Community Benefits Working Group comprised of core community partners to deliver benefits to the Port Arthur community, such as social services organizations providing financial services to low-income families, labor engagement, education, and job training programs.
In addition to pursing government grants, Entergy Texas is also seeking approval of Phase I of its comprehensive Texas Future Ready Resiliency Plan, which was filed in June of this year. Once approved by the Public Utility Commission of Texas, the plan will benefit customers by decreasing future storm restoration costs by approximately $129 million and reducing the duration of power outages following significant weather events like hurricanes by 4.5 billion minutes over the next 50 years.
Source: Entergy Texas
