Electric Cities of Georgia (ECG) on Nov. 11 announced that six of the eight Georgia communities selected for the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority (GEFA) Grid Resilience Grant Program are ECG members.
These awards advance the modernization of public power infrastructure and strengthen resilience against extreme weather and other disruptions, ECG noted.
The GEFA funding, provided through a federal grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) via its Grid Deployment Office, supports upgrades to transmission and distribution systems, deployment of advanced technologies, and reliable, affordable, clean power for municipal utilities.
“We are thrilled to see GEFA and DOE invest in the reliability and resilience of our member cities. For communities like Monroe and Elberton, this funding enables crucial upgrades that reduce outages and improve service quality. These improvements are a vital step toward a more resilient future, and we are grateful to have partners like GEFA and the Beneficial Electrification League to assist our communities,” said Jon McBrayer, Community Development Manager for ECG Economic & Community Development.
The communities receiving funding include:
• City of Albany / Albany Utilities
• Cobb Electric Membership Corporation (EMC)
• City of Elberton
• City of LaFayette
• Marietta Board of Lights and Water
• City of Monroe
• Rayle Electric Membership Corporation (EMC)
• City of Sylvania
ECG’s Office of Economic & Community Development worked closely with the cities of Monroe and Elberton, while the Beneficial Electrification League (BEL) assisted with applications for LaFayette and Elberton.
In addition, ECG’s Engineering & Energy Services team supported several member communities by developing project scopes and cost estimates and will continue providing engineering guidance throughout the life of these projects.
This collaborative effort is part of the broader GEFA Grid Resilience Grant Program, administered by DOE’s Grid Deployment Office, which catalyzes investments across Georgia’s publicly owned utilities to upgrade infrastructure, deploy next-generation transmission and distribution technologies, and ensure communities have access to reliable, affordable electricity.
Electric Cities of Georgia is a nonprofit membership organization serving 52 municipal electric utilities across Georgia. ECG provides analytics, engineering, energy services, economic development, and training to help member communities maximize utility performance and achieve structural reliability.
GEFA, in collaboration with DOE’s Grid Deployment Office, administers federal funds to modernize the electric grid and reduce vulnerability to extreme weather and other hazards. The program helps municipal utilities across Georgia upgrade infrastructure and improve grid resiliency.
