Three-Part Wildfire Damage Mitigation Project Executive Summary

In October 2023, MSMEC received an award notification for the United States Department of Energy’s Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) Program Grant, made available through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in 2021, for the Three-Part Wildfire Damage Mitigation Project (Project) for MSMEC’s electric system.  The federal share of the grant award is $11,270,193 and the MSMEC cost share is $3,756,731 for a total project cost of $15,026,924.  MSMEC has five years to complete the project.

Project Objectives

As a rural electric cooperative, MSMEC is committed to providing clean, resilient, and affordable energy to the member-owners located in its service area.  The member-owners of MSMEC are the communities that will benefit from this Project. The Project will accelerate and expand MSMEC’s grid resilience investments and better prepare it to avoid, withstand, and quickly recover from power disruptions caused by wildfires and other weather events intensified by climate change.  The Project will significantly benefit the community by reducing the frequency and duration of electric service disruptions throughout a service territory that falls within the 90^th-100^th percentile for wildfire risk to infrastructure and is comprised entirely of economically disadvantaged communities.  Enhancing vegetation management and accelerating grid modernization will lead to better power quality and support the MSMEC’s move toward beneficial electrification using clean energy.  The Project will increase the number of well-paid, highly skilled positions working at MSMEC.  Additionally, the Project will bring economic benefits to the community through the local spending of contractors working on the Project and the ability to attract tourism, broadband internet, and other business investments dependent upon reliable electric service.  Throughout the Project duration, MSMEC will utilize its existing union labor agreements and seek opportunities to establish new partnerships with local governments, agencies, and community-based organizations.

Project Scope

The Project is comprised of three parts.

1. Enhanced vegetation management

MSMEC has been cutting trees and branches along powerlines since it opened its doors, but with changes in climate evidenced by recent wildfires, the need to increase investments in this area is evident.  The grant funding will allow for the development of a complete vegetation management plan that will prioritize high wildfire danger areas, continuously reassess vegetation status, and schedule tree trimming activities within a planned annual cycle. 

2. Grid Hardening

Grid hardening is comprised of conducting regular maintenance and upgrades that make structures and powerlines stronger and more resilient to wind, fire, sabotage, and other dangers.  Funding from the grant will be used to vastly expand MSMEC’s current maintenance program in this area.  Equipped with a grid hardening plan that will set new standards, MSMEC and contractor crews will be replacing and upgrading poles, powerlines, and other equipment throughout the system for the duration of the Project and beyond.    

3. Grid Modernization

To improve system reliability and performance, grid modernization must accompany grid hardening. By deploying state-of-the-art electric utility solutions such as distribution automation, fault finding, advanced metering, and outage management, MSMEC will enable its employees and contractors to identify problems and deploy assets much more quickly.  New technologies and information systems will allow MSMEC to monitor the system status in real time and base system planning on superior modeling and data analysis.  Grid modernization will also enable MSMEC to install switches and other equipment that can be operated remotely, reducing the workload and improving safety for field personnel. The grid modernization efforts will enable MSMEC to expand capacity in order to accommodate the expected increase of energy demand from the use of electric vehicles, electric heat pumps, and other electrification efforts that aim to reduce carbon emissions. Together, these investments in grid modernization will improve the power quality and reliability for MSMEC members. MSMEC employees and contractors will upgrade and add equipment in the field throughout the life of the Project and beyond.

The Project is broken down into four phases:

• Planning and design
• Procurement and acquisition of materials and services
• Construction
• Deployment, testing, and commissioning.

To begin making the MSMEC grid better able to handle increased power demands as electrification expands, reduce system disruptions, and recover faster from outages, project team members will perform a complete assessment and inventory of the MSMEC electric system.  Following the assessment, MSMEC will create a comprehensive system model and map of every item in the field, an enhanced vegetation management plan, and a grid modernization/hardening plan that will strategically deploy new equipment to modernize the system. With the plans in place, MSMEC will procure and acquire services and materials.  Then, MSMEC staff and contracted crews will begin removing and trimming trees located near powerlines.  Crews will also begin installing new equipment and replacing old structures throughout MSMEC’s service area. MSMEC will continue to carry out its plans for grid hardening and modernization long into the future.