Duke Energy revealed Thursday that it was set to receive $50 million in federal funding to aid with power grid improvements in both South Carolina and North Carolina.
Leaders with the utility provider and the United States Department of Energy stood under transmission towers near an electric substation in the Spartanburg County town of Duncan to make the announcement. Duke Energy's grant is part of an overall $1.9 billion to be distributed in federal funds for help with 31 grid-improvement projects in 26 states.
The South Carolina changes will be palpable in Spartanburg and Greenville counties, which is where the upgrades will be made. In North Carolina, Henderson and Polk counties, which sit just north of Spartanburg and Greenville, will see improvements.
DOE Associate Deputy Secretary of Energy Alex Fitzsimmons attended Thursday's press conference. He said the region's recent regular rise in population — and subsequent demand for energy — helped fuel the grant decision. Although Greenville and Spartanburg are not the state's fastest growing counties, each of the pair still sees sizable growth, according to the United States Census Bureau.
"That means we need to continue to make sure that we have the strongest, most modern energy system possible, so it made sense to do one of the projects here," he said.
Duke Energy explicitly said the funding will be used to optimize grid capacity and lower costs for customers, among other applications. It is part of the company's overall $200 million infrastructure improvement plan to enhance hurricane readiness and general capabilities.
The other about $150 million the company needed for its plan will come from its own investments. In part, customers are paying for the upgrades through monthly bills and a rate increase enacted earlier in the year.
The project will help unlock additional capacity in already-existing infrastructure. Fitzsimmons said the upgrades would help "double or triple" the capacity of existing transmission lines. The lines essentially allow energy to reach businesses and homes.
Duke Energy spokesperson Zach Vavricka said customers should have reliable, expansive access to the services they are paying the company for.
"The whole idea is that we want to make sure that folks are getting their power — getting it faster. And we have fewer outages as well," he said.
No exact timeline could be provided on the project's completion, but Vavricka said South Carolinians in the Upstate should see crews begin grant-related work in the coming months.
"We just got news of this grant. We are hot right now," he said. "This is a piece of the pie of our grid upgrades. And so, I think in the coming months and years, you'll see crews working to make these upgrades from this grant."
