The Department of Energy (DOE) has announced support for funding 84 transmission and distribution projects in eight states, with the aim of improving grid reliability and lowering electricity costs for Americans.
The department will support the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), the largest public power provider in the United States, in funding these projects, which will add roughly 2.5 gigawatts of new grid capacity and help minimize power outages, the DOE said in an Oct. 13 statement.
In total, around $581 million will be awarded. The investments are expected to help 2.58 million families and businesses get reliable, secure, and affordable electricity, and support roughly 800 jobs, the DOE said.
“These investments with TVA will help reduce congestion, improve efficiency, and make better use of our existing transmission system to lower costs for ratepayers,” Deputy Secretary of Energy James P. Danly said in the statement.
“America is blessed with an abundance of natural resources and some of the most advanced technology in the world, but we must have the generation and transmission infrastructure necessary to support our rapidly growing economy and its electricity needs.”
The funding is being made under a grid resilience program. Last month, the DOE had selected TVA for another investment program, and the two programs combined represent almost $741 million in planned grid investment for TVA, projected to add more than 4,300 megawatts in extra grid capacity, the DOE said.
One of the programs has a wider scope, helping to fund 31 grid-improvement projects in 26 states with $5.25 billion in total funding. This is expected to strengthen grid reliability and lower the cost of electricity for around 100 million Americans.
Blackout Risks
On Oct. 12, the DOE announced that an emergency order was issued to mitigate blackout risks in the mid-Atlantic ahead of expected stressful conditions, including high demand from customers and planned generator outages for maintenance.
In July 2025, the DOE said in a statement that the planned retirement of more than 100 gigawatts of power generation capacity by the end of 2030 could raise the risk of blackouts in the country by 100 times. Weather conditions can also negatively impact solar and wind power generation, causing outages, the department warned.
“Modeling shows annual outage hours could increase from single digits today to more than 800 hours per year. Such a surge would leave millions of households and businesses vulnerable,” the DOE said.
Securing the Grid
In September, the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) held the 2026 Congressional Grid Innovation Expo on Capitol Hill, emphasizing the need for supply chain certainty to ensure secure, affordable energy.
NEMA is predicting that electricity demand in the United States will jump by more than 55 percent by 2050, with much of the growth expected over the coming decade, according to a Sept. 15 statement from the association.
“This growth represents an enormous economic opportunity, but only if the grid and its supply chain can keep pace,” NEMA CEO Debra Phillips said at the expo. “Meeting that demand goes beyond generating more electricity. We must get the most from our existing grid by maximizing our ability to move, manage, store, and protect the systems that deliver electricity.”
On Sept. 15, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed the High-Capacity Grid Act. The bill modernizes the U.S. power grid by mandating state-of-the-art advanced conductors for all new and rebuilt interstate power lines, according to a Sept. 15 statement from the office of Rep. Julie Fedorchak (R-N.D.).
Moreover, the bill seeks to improve grid reliability at the lowest costs for customers and focus on deploying proven, high-performance transmission tech, the statement said.
“America’s electricity demand is growing at the fastest pace in decades. To meet this demand, we must optimize our existing transmission infrastructure,” Fedorchak said in the statement.
We had a problem loading this article. Please enable javascript or use a different browser. If the issue persists, please visit our help center.