Entergy Texas has applied to secure federal grants to improve the resiliency of the power grid in Port Arthur, Texas and aims to lock funding for a $107.5 million infrastructure and electrical grid hardening project.
In April 2024, the company updated its application for the U.S. Department of Energy's Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships Program. The funds, if approved, will help protect the power grid from extreme weather events, which have affected Port Arthur.
“The City of Port Arthur has endured numerous extreme weather events, including two of the most historic weather events in our country―Hurricane Harvey and Winter Storm Uri,” said Thurman Bartie, mayor of Port Arthur. “Since 2020, at least four major hurricanes have impacted our communities and caused widespread power outages.”
The proposed project plans to strengthen 57 transmission structures, harden or underground at least 950 distribution structures, and pilot a self-healing microgrid solution to bridge short-term outages by interconnecting a utility-scale battery to an existing substation. The improvements are expected to benefit Port Arthur customers by reducing the duration of power outages following weather events by 257 million minutes and decrease future storm restoration costs by an estimated $74 million over the next 50 years.
The company has selected the proposed Pear Ridge-Kolbs-Lakeview project site due to its potential to reduce the energy burden in a community where over 94% of residents are classified as disadvantaged according to federal guidelines. The area also includes the Bowers Civic Center, a major storm shelter during extreme weather events.
While DOE will announce GRIP award winners in fall of 2024, winning submissions will receive funding for half of the project's cost to help maintain affordable rates for customers.
Entergy Texas has committed to delivering on the DOE’s Justice40 principles to ensure equitable access to affordable, clean energy. As part of the grid hardening project, the company has developed a community benefits plan and committed to establishing a Community Benefits Working Group comprised of core community partners to deliver benefits to the Port Arthur community, such as social services organizations providing financial services to low-income families, labor engagement, education, and job training programs.
Additionally, Entergy Texas is also seeking approval of Phase I of its comprehensive Texas Future Ready Resiliency Plan, which was filed in June 2024. Once approved by the Public Utility Commission of Texas, the plan will benefit customers by decreasing future storm restoration costs by approximately $129 million and reducing the duration of power outages following weather events like hurricanes by 4.5 billion minutes over the next 50 years.
