The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection recently awarded the Claverack Rural Electric Cooperative (REC), a Wysox-based member-owned, not-for-profit utility, a more than $2.1 million grant through the Pennsylvania Grid Resilience Grants (PA GRG) Program.
“We are pleased to receive this grant, which will allow us to continue our efforts to enhance our infrastructure and provide more reliable service to our members,” Steve Allabaugh, Claverack REC president and CEO, said.
Funding will be used to install more than 50 smart grid devices connected to the cooperative’s fiber optic communications infrastructure, and to implement advanced satellite imagery and machine learning technology on more than 2,800 miles of power lines.
These technology upgrades will allow the cooperative to increase its electric grid’s resilience and reliability by reducing outage durations. It also will increase resilience of the region’s electrical infrastructure
Claverack Rural Electric Cooperative supplies electricity to nearly 19,000 consumers in Bradford, Lackawannaa, Luzerne, Lycoming, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, and Wyoming counties.
The Department of Environmental Protection administers the PA GRG Program. It is funded under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Grid Resilience State/Tribal Formula Grant Program.
The program funds resilience measures intended to mitigate the impact of disruptive events such as the relocation of power lines and the undergrounding of electrical equipment.