OPD5 has been awarded federal grant funding to harden its electrical distribution system in an area of Moapa Valley historically prone to wildfires. With the nearly $1 million in grant funds, the district plans to relocate crucial power lines in the Warm Springs area and get them out of harm’s way in case of wildfire in the area.
The funding comes through the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), a portion of which is being administered through the Nevada Governor’s Office of Energy (GOE). The specified purpose of the funding was to help small utilities to improve system resilience against disruptive events from extreme weather or other natural disasters, including wildfire.
OPD5 teamed up with nine other rural power utilities in the state in a joint application for a total of $7.1 million of the grid-resilience funding through the GOE. The grant application was formally filed by the Nevada Rural Electric Association (NREA) on behalf of the nine entities, all of which are active NREA members.
In addition, the NREA team communicated with staff members from the Nevada Governor’s Office of Federal Assistance (OFA) to seek help with the 45 percent match required by the IIJA program. This effort ended up yielding another $1.7 million in assistance, virtually cutting the match requirement in half for the rural entities.
The grant award was officially announced at the NREA annual conference on Thursday, Sept. 25 at the Aliante Resort in Las Vegas. Presenting checks at the event were Nicole Kelleher from the GOE and A’Keia Sanders from OFA.
“Working together as NREA partner entities, we all decided that a cooperative joint effort for this grant application would be much stronger than if we all just scrambled after it separately on our own,” said OPD5 General Manager/CEO MeLisa Garcia. “That turned out to be a wise decision. The officials at both GOE and OFA loved the idea. They immediately recognized it as a way that this funding could be distributed evenly to help the most rural parts of the state. And they were very supportive of us throughout the process.”
“The Governor’s Office of Energy is proud to award this grant to the Nevada Rural Electric Association,” stated Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo. “Rural electric organizations are vital, delivering power to areas that private utilities cannot reach, ensuring every Nevadan can power their homes, farms, and businesses. Investing in public power drives economic growth, strengthens community development, and positions Nevada for future energy challenges and opportunities with confidence and purpose.”
Garcia was also quick to give kudos to Lombardo and his staff for working so diligently with NREA throughout the proposal. “Governor Lombardo and his staff were wonderful to work with,” she said. “They were efficient and responsive in helping us navigate this complex process. We truly appreciate their attentiveness to the needs of our rural communities.”
The OPD5 portion of the overall NREA grant package amounts to $976,000. This funding will be used by the district to relocate significant stretches of overhead line out of a heavily-vegetated wildfire zone in the Warm Springs area. A four-mile portion of this line will be placed on ductile iron poles in a new location away from traditional wildfire areas. Another mile of overhead line, which must remain in the wildfire zone, will be placed underground as part of the proposed project.
The Warm Springs area has a history of severe wildfires. In the past, fires have swept through and damaged power lines and poles.
“That has caused interruptions of electric service to, not only the residents of that neighborhood, but also to culinary water infrastructure that serves the whole Moapa Valley community,” Garcia said. “So this funding will provide a great opportunity for us to solve some of those problems for our customers.”
Garcia expressed appreciation to the members of OPD5 staff who spent many hours gathering data and preparing materials for the district’s portion of the grant application. “My staff are so dedicated to their community and the service that we provide,” she said. “They really saw this as an important need and a unique opportunity and they have just gone after it.”