Today, the NC Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) State Energy Office (SEO) and Surry-Yadkin Electric Membership Corp. (SYEMC) kicked off a $5.9 million grid modernization project. The Foothills Resiliency Project will reduce power outages, harden the system against severe weather and increase affordability, reliability, resilience and energy efficiency for rural communities in four northern North Carolina counties.
DEQ Secretary Reid Wilson, SEO Director Julie Woosley, SYEMC Executive Vice President and General Manager Greg Puckett, SYEMC Assistant General Manager Bryon Kennedy and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Electricity Assistant Secretary Katie Jereza gathered at SYEMC’s Double Creek Substation to celebrate the start of the project.
“The Foothills Resiliency Project will bring more energy capacity and resiliency to Surry-Yadkin EMC’s members and provide opportunities for economic growth,” said DEQ Secretary Reid Wilson. “The planned upgrades will save their members money, ensure they have reliable power and provide many with much needed high-speed internet access.”
Last year, DEQ awarded SYEMC $4.5 million toward the project as part of DOE’s Resilience of the Electric Grid Formula Grants for States and Tribes. The award reduces the financial burden for people in Stokes, Surry, Yadkin, and Wilkes counties. SYEMC provided nearly $1.5 million in cost match.
“I’m excited for the project to get started and to see the benefits of increased reliability to the people who will benefit,” said Travis Bode, SYEMC manager of economic development and project lead. “We want to continue to follow our Cooperative Principles and provide outstanding service, increased capacity for economic development and save our member-owners money.”
The Foothills Resiliency Project will modernize the 80-year-old infrastructure, much of it the original equipment from the 1940s, by completing a transmission upgrade and three distribution upgrades. Transmission lines move bulk electricity from plants to substations, while distribution lines move electricity from substations to homes and businesses. SYEMC will update conductors, support structures, cabling and 180 poles to standard modern technology.
This project will also install fiber-optic cable to bring high-speed internet access to member-owners in rural communities in Stokes County, which will support Governor Josh Stein’s efforts to bring broadband to rural counties across North Carolina. In May, Governor Stein signed a law enabling the Department of Information Technology to continue building critical rural broadband capacity. Earlier this year, he announced the launch of major broadband projects statewide that will connect 93,000 homes, businesses and community anchor institutions to high-speed internet access by 2030.
The project’s upgrades will decrease weather-related outages by an estimated 35 percent and provide cost savings, workforce development and access to reliable energy. In addition, the project will significantly increase electricity delivery capacity, which will help foster economic development.
“Our mission at Surry-Yadkin EMC is to provide safe, outstanding service that powers our rural communities,” SYEMC’s Kennedy said. “Leveraging grant funding to help upgrade areas that might not have seen upgrades for many years is one of the many ways we are benefitting our member-owners now, and for the future. This grant funding is improving affordability for our member-owners and will aid in future economic and community development in these areas.”
About DEQ State Energy Office
DEQ’s State Energy Office (SEO) is dedicated to ensuring a sustainable energy future for the residents of North Carolina. SEO provides services and technical expertise on energy efficiency in the public sector, encourages the growth and development of the state’s clean energy economy, and distributes grants to agencies and North Carolinians to increase energy efficiency and reduce utility costs. SEO serves as a principal source of information for these energy areas.
About Surry-Yadkin EMC
Surry-Yadkin Electric Membership Corp. (SYEMC), a not-for-profit Touchstone Energy cooperative, was founded in 1940 by a group of local farmers with a vision to provide electricity to rural farmers and families. Its first lines were energized on Feb. 22, 1941. More than 85 years later, SYEMC serves more than 28,600 meters in five counties, including Forsyth, Stokes, Surry, Wilkes and Yadkin counties. SYEMC is an equal opportunity employer and provider.