Review - S 4895 Introduced – Grid Assistants

Last month Sen Wyden (D,OR) introduced S 4895, the Grid Resilience Improvement through Dedicated (GRID) Assistance Act (PL 117-158). The bill would amend the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, adding a new §40114, Grid Assistance Program. It would require DOE to establish a grant program to provide funding for the hiring, training, and retention Grid Assistants to help implement transmission capacity expansion and resiliency efforts. The bill would authorize the spending of $25-million per year through 2029 to fund the new program.

Moving Forward

Wyden is a subcommittee chair in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to which this bill was assigned for consideration. This means that there is probably sufficient influence to see the bill considered in Committee. Other than the increased funding (which some Republicans would reject without considering the program for which the funding in intended), I see nothing that would engender any organized opposition. I would expect to see some level of bipartisan support for the bill if it were considered.

Due to how little time is left in the session to the lateness of the session, this bill is not likely to be brought to the floor.

 

For more details about the provisions of the bill, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/s-4895-introduced - subscription required.