Hoyle and Ezell Applaud Bipartisan Passage of POWER Act in Transportation & Infrastructure Committee
WASHINGTON, DC— Today, the U.S. House of Transportation & Infrastructure Committee passed U.S. Representatives Val Hoyle’s and Mike Ezell’s bill – the Promoting Opportunities to Widen Electrical Resilience (POWER) Act. This bill would provide more eligibility and flexibility for public power utilities to invest in long-term hazard mitigation and grid resilience solutions, strengthening critical infrastructure before and after natural disaster strikes.
“I’m thrilled that my bill, the POWER Act, passed the committee today with the strong support of my Democratic and Republican colleagues. As the threat of severe weather events continues to increase, we should be investing taxpayer dollars into critical infrastructure that can withstand the next disaster instead of building back the same way,” said Hoyle. “My bill gives electric utilities more tools to rebuild for resilience after a disaster, boosting local safety and economies. I’d like to thank Rep. Mike Ezell for his partnership on this bill and I’ll continue working to get it signed into law.”
“I have led many recovery efforts following natural disasters in South Mississippi and understand that the faster essential services are restored, the quicker the community is able to recover,” Ezell said. “The POWER Act will support this by streamlining restoration efforts for electric utilities to strengthen our nation’s critical infrastructure. A more efficient and effective process will ultimately save taxpayers money and encourage more resilient infrastructure. Thank you to Rep. Hoyle for also seeing this critical need to protect our constituents.”
During disasters, utilities must respond quickly to restore power. Today, utilities can be reimbursed to get power up and running, but then they become ineligible for future federal funds that would make their electrical infrastructure more resilient. The POWER Act addresses this problem by allowing public power utilities to access federal hazard mitigation funding after they have restored power to better community safety and well-being.
“The POWER Act will not only help communities recover from disaster, but also position them to be more resilient in the future,” said APPA President & CEO Scott Corwin. “It will both facilitate the repairs necessary to protect life and property and provide the means to make meaningful hazard mitigation investments. This is good policy that will help strengthen our nation’s electric grid.”
"BuildStrong America applauds Representatives Hoyle and Ezell for their bipartisan leadership in introducing the POWER Act, and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for unanimously advancing it today. Infrastructure failures are a climate risk multiplier, and grid resilience is vital to our nation's security, economy, and well-being,” said Dr. Natalie Enclade, Executive Director of BuildStrong America. “The POWER Act empowers utilities to take proactive mitigation steps, addressing immediate recovery needs and long-term resilience, ensuring our communities are better protected against future disasters.”
The President can declare a major disaster for any event that causes damage too severe for state and local governments to adequately respond, making recovery costs eligible for reimbursement through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The POWER Act modifies Hazard Mitigation Grant Program eligibility for public electric utilities to make the program more useful in practice. To become a law, the bill needs to be considered on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate before being sent to the President’s desk.