Oregon Nez Perce Tribe receives $290,877 electric grid resilience grant

By on Monday, November 4th, 2024 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News

EASTERN OREGON – The U.S. Congress recently confirmed that the Nez Perce Tribe will receive a $290,887 grant from the Oregon Department of Energy to help improve electric grid resilience and pay for modernization. This is part of a larger 1.16 million dollar funding effort split between four Oregon tribes, including the Nez Perce, Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs, Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians, and Burns Paiute. In total, 473.6 million dollars are being distributed across the U.S. as part of the 2024 Grid Resilience State and Tribal Formula Grants from the U.S. Department of Energy.

In a press release from the U.S. congress announcing the funding, Shannon F. Wheeler, Chairman for the Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee, gave the following statement:

“The Nez Perce Tribe is committed to helping the Northwest meet its energy needs in a cleaner and smarter way that will address the impacts of current energy demands on salmon restoration. These funds are an important component of this collaborative work with energy utilities and other stakeholders in the Northwest and we are excited that these funds will allow us to continue to do this work.”