DOE awards PECO with up to $100M in grant funding

Philadelphia-based PECO will receive up to $100 million in grant funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) program to support investment into its grid.

According to PECO, the grant will support critical electric infrastructure investments that will help the company reduce the impacts of extreme weather and historic flooding on its electric distribution system and improve service for customers across Southeastern Pennsylvania. PECO said it will use the grant to implement its comprehensive strategy, “Creating a Resilient, Equitable, and Accessible Transformation in Energy” (CREATE) plan that will improve its reliability and resiliency, as well as modernize its infrastructure, relocate substation equipment away from flood-prone areas and install microgrid and battery storage technology.

“Extreme weather events fueled by climate change will continue to strain the nation’s aging transmission systems, but President Biden’s Investing in America agenda will ensure America’s power grid can provide reliable, affordable power,” said U.S Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “Today’s announcement represents the largest-ever direct investment in critical grid infrastructure, supporting projects that will harden systems, improve energy reliability and affordability—all while generating union jobs for highly skilled workers.”

Part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), the funding is part of the DOE GRIP program which provides an estimated $4.8 billion in grants to enhance grid flexibility and improve resilience. In addition to PECO’s grant, Exelon sister utility ComEd in Chicago was awarded $50 million for its grid resilience efforts.

“With our extensive expertise in delivering large-scale utility infrastructure projects on time and on budget, and our focus on investing in reliability and resiliency, we are well-positioned to execute on our CREATE Plan,” said PECO President and CEO Mike Innocenzo. “Leveraging this federal grant will also allow us to increase grid capacity to enable renewable energy, electric vehicle charging, and job growth in our region while minimizing the impact on customer bills.”