(The Center Square) – U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, are welcoming government-funded energy infrastructure while opposing private-sector plans.
The two Senators support the Biden administration giving the state $449.5 million in federal assistance to “modernize the power grid, bolstering its ability to withstand fires, bad weather, natural disasters and more,” according to a press release from Wyden’s office.
“Whether it’s been wildfires, windstorms, ice storms or other calamities, Oregon communities in recent years have suffered prolonged power outages among the dangers that arise when the grid goes down,” Wyden said. “I’m glad to see the Disaster Safe Power Grid Act I fought for, now making the power grid more resilient and helping to bring more renewables online. This major federal investment means Oregonians can feel more secure that they won’t freeze in the winter, bake in the summer, and able to count on electricity year-round in their homes and small businesses.”
Merkley reiterated the opinion that the funding will help prevent future power outages.
“It’s crucial for our power grids to remain up to date, especially as summer droughts and intense winter storms become more common and severe,” Merkley said. “Oregonians shouldn’t have to worry about their health and lives being at risk due to power outages leaving them stranded without electricity for days or weeks or because a stray power line sparked a catastrophic wildfire. This funding is a critical investment to modernize our power grids and help reduce the chance of outages or sparks.”
Here is a breakdown of how the money will be spent, according to a release:
$250 million to a partnership between Portland General Electric and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs to upgrade transmission capacity between PGE’s load centers, and renewable generation resources east of the Cascades — including those on the Warm Springs reservation$99.6 million to PacifiCorp for grid resilience and equitable workforce development in the West$50 million to Portland General Electric to accelerate and deploy grid-edge computing for about 10 percent of PGE’s distribution system$49.9 million to PacifiCorp to create a holistic ecosystem that reduces or mitigates wildfires and improves grid flexibility, reliability, and resiliency.
The statements from the lawmakers came a day after they urged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to oppose a TC Energy proposal to expand natural gas infrastructure in the Pacific Northwest.
Along with U.S. Senators Patty Murray, D-Washington, and Maria Cantwell, D-Washington, they wrote a letter to the FERC in opposition to the expansion plan.
“We write to express our opposition to TC Energy’s proposed Gas Transmission Northwest (GTN) Xpress Project and to urge the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to reject TC Energy’s request for a certificate of public convenience and necessity. TC Energy’s project would increase rates for consumers, cause over $8.8 billion in climate damages, and undermine our states’ efforts to combat the climate crisis just so that a Canadian company can increase the shipment of Canadian fracked methane gas. Elected officials from across Washington, Oregon, and California have been clear: this project is incompatible with our climate laws,” the Senators wrote in a letter.
The lawmakers also said there is a lack of need for this kind of energy in the northwest.
“GTN Xpress represents a significant expansion of methane gas infrastructure at a time when California, Oregon, and Washington are moving away from fossil fuels. It will increase public safety risks and does not have the support of impacted tribes. Further, the project will raise energy costs for consumers, it is incompatible with laws in all three aforementioned states, and there is not adequate demonstrated need. We oppose GTN Xpress and urge you to deny TC Energy’s request for a certificate of public convenience and necessity,” the Senators concluded in their letter.
John Charles, president of the Cascade Policy Institute, told The Center Square via email that the conflicting positions from the Senators are an example of why they are wrong on energy policy.
“The Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships program … is just another Congressional pork-barrel program,” Charles wrote. “As with all such programs, a few people will benefit, and taxpayers in general will lose. Members of Congress love these programs because they create the illusion of ‘free money’ flowing to designated constituents.”
“The fact that the two Oregon Senators oppose the GTN pipeline project is also politics as usual,” he added. “They claim that Oregon is ‘transitioning’ away from fossil fuels, but if you check the Oregon Department of Energy website, you’ll see that Oregon’s electricity grid actually became more reliant on fossil fuels during the period of 2012-2020. Coal and natural gas accounted for 45% of Oregon’s electricity consumption in 2012, and this number went up to 48% in 2020.”
“If we followed the policy path preferred by the two Senators, the energy ‘transition’ would be from reliable power to candles and blankets,” he concluded. “No one is really interested in that option.”
