Electric Grid Resilience
The growing demand for electric power will continue to increase as North Carolina transitions to clean energy. The state is committed to meeting that demand, which is why North Carolina is working to enhance the electric grid. By strengthening and modernizing the electric grid and improving its resilience against extreme weather and climate change, the grid's capacity will increase, residents will see less and shorter service interruptions, and renewable energy sources will be more easily interconnected.
Learn more about North Carolina's grid resilience initiatives and projects.
U.S. Department of Energy’s Grid Resilience State/Tribal Formula Grants Program
Preventing Outages While Enhancing the Resilience of the Electric Grid
North Carolina is improving the electric grid’s resilience through the U.S. Department of Energy’s Grid Resilience State/Tribal Formula Grants Program (Section 40101d). Authorized by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Section 40101d provides $2.3 billion in formula grants over five years to States and Tribes to modernize, strengthen and improve resilience of the electric grid against natural disasters and disruptive events.
For the first two years of the grant, North Carolina received approximately $18.4 million and plans to administer funding to subawardees following a competitive proposal selection. Selected projects will reduce the likelihood and consequences of grid failure due to natural disasters.
Grid modernization: Add grid technologies that strengthen resilience and increase the flexibility of the grid.
Equitable access to resilient and reliable energy: Invest in projects that will improve energy reliability and resiliency in disadvantaged communities, which are more impacted by outages and subject to higher energy burdens.
Equitable workforce development: Commit to equitable workforce development through projects that will attract, train and retrain an appropriately skilled workforce.
DEQ has selected the following 7 projects for funding following a competitive application process:
| Awarded Entity | Project Name | Project Description |
|---|---|---|
| City of Wilson | Wilson Community Resilience | The City of Wilson will strengthen and weatherize its electric grid by upgrading existing infrastructure, including replacing or reinforcing old and underperforming poles. Wilson Community Resilience will also ensure that distribution infrastructure can support both power and access to high-speed internet, providing benefits to rural areas in Wilson, Nash, Edgecombe, Pitt, Greene, Wayne and Johnston counties. |
| Surry-Yadkin Electric Membership Corporation | Foothills Resiliency | Foothills Resiliency will perform transmission and distribution upgrades to decrease natural hazard related outages by 35 percent. The project also aims to create access to high-speed internet in underserved rural communities in Stokes, Surry, Yadkin and Wilkes counties. |
| Four County Electric Membership Corporation | Strengthening Transmission Efficiency and Enhancing Lifespan (STEEL) | STEEL will upgrade the 55-year-old electric grid in Sampson County by replacing 116 wooden utility poles with steel poles and small conductors with larger ones. |
| Tideland Electric Membership Corporation | Project Ocracoke Resiliency | Project Ocracoke Resiliency aims to reduce power outage time by installing underground electrical lines and equipment and relocating aerial lines to less disrupted areas. The project will also support Ocracoke’s existing microgrid to further increase resiliency and reliability. |
| Fayetteville Public Works Commission | The Fayetteville Public Works Commission aims to improve the electric grid by replacing 480 wooden poles with steel poles, decreasing outage time and keeping electric costs low for residents in Fayetteville and throughout Cumberland County. | |
| Duke Energy | Cherokee Area Resiliency and Environmental Safety (CAR-ES) | CAR-ES project will transform the grid in two disadvantaged communities in the Cherokee area of Western North Carolina. CAR-ES aims to harden the grid and improve its ability to self-optimize and automate processes to reduce outage times and improve resilience. |
| City of Gastonia | Strategic Upgrades for Resilient Grid Enhancements (SURGE) | SURGE will upgrade and enhance the grid with infrastructure and technology improvements. It will replace vulnerable wood substation poles with durable steel poles and automate critical circuits to enhance the grid’s ability to self-heal during and after disruptive events. |
U.S. Department of Energy's Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) Program
North Carolina Innovative Transmission Rebuild
North Carolina is partnering with Duke Energy to invest in the grid and enhance its flexibility, improve resilience, and ensure affordable and reliable electricity for North Carolinians. Implementing advanced technology, the North Carolina Innovative Transmission Rebuild project will reconstruct the Lee-Milburnie 230 kV transmission line, incorporating high temperature, low-sag advanced conductors and monopole steel structures that will enhance resilience and reliability within the existing right of way.
The state was selected for funding for this project in the amount of $57 million. Duke Energy is providing the same amount in match, making the project total $114 million.
- Reduced customer interruptions: 14,000 utility customers, who live in an area susceptible to the impacts of hurricanes and strong storms, will see an estimated 10% reduction in the length of service interruptions.
- Preparing for growth: Increased line capacity will support 1,600 MW of solar and 260 MW of energy storage, readying the grid for the anticipated load growth in the area. The support structures will also be designed to accommodate another line, paving the way for even more capacity in the future.
- Optimized right-of-way: Rebuilding the transmission line in place— utilizing the existing right of way—will minimize the impact to communities during construction and will cost less than a new greenfield transmission line.
- New jobs and workforce training: The project will create 550 new positions that can be filled through partnerships with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and local community colleges. The project also dedicates more than $3 million to workforce development and training
More About Grid Resilience in NC
North Carolina is the second-highest state in the nation for average electric power service interruptions per customer in total duration, averaging roughly eleven hours annually. In recent years, the state has faced multiple natural disasters. Storms are becoming stronger and more intense, taking an enormous toll on human life, the environment, public health, and our economy.
Overall, the goal of the power grid and transmission system is to deliver reliable electricity at a reasonable cost. Weather-related hazards and other stressors to the system work against these goals by lowering efficiency of both the grid and transmission system and reducing the overall capacity. Additionally, long duration and large-scale outages impact hospitals and other critical services, halting emergency assistance for those in disadvantaged communities.
The state is exploring several options to enhance the electric system’s adaptive capacity during disruptive events, such as:
Using and equipping microgrids with renewable energy and battery storage devices
Hardening the grid/transmission infrastructure
Undergrounding existing distribution and transmission lines
Reducing demand for power
Modernizing existing grid assets with smart meters, controllers and automation
Leveraging analytics to manage a diverse source of power supply, transmission and distribution system components