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Burnet upping electric grid resilience

A power pole and line. Staff photo by Caden Senn

The city of Burnet recently accepted two state grants to bolster its electrical infrastructure and protect against future power outages.

The grants, awarded by the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) under the U.S. Department of Energy’s Grid Resilience Grant Program, total roughly $515,000 and will encompass electrical equipment upgrades and vegetation management around power lines and poles.

TDEM will fund approximately $346,000, or 67 percent of the cost of the projects, with the city on the hook for the remaining $170,000, or 33 percent, to be paid through the city’s electric capital fund.

Burnet City Engineer Eric Belaj explained during a Tuesday, July 28, council meeting that the first of the two grants, installing a system for remote monitoring and control, will help protect against potential outages and alleviate the workload of electric staff.

“The first grant will allow us to see more outages and see where we have issues in our electric system,” he said. “It’ll save our guys quite a bit of time from going out there (to diagnose problems), and should also protect against long outages in our electric system.”

Belaj added that the second grant, removing vegetation from nearly 40,000 feet of power lines, will further bolster protection from outages in the case of any loose tree limbs striking lines.

The city expects the two projects to be finished in March and August 2027, respectively.

caden@thepicayune.com

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