How the Biden Infrastructure Deal Impacts Electric Utilities
President Biden scored a nice win with the $550 billion bipartisan infrastructure deal passed in July 2021. As you might imagine, the deal directly impacts the utility industry – particularly the electric utility sector – in a substantial manner. Let’s take a look at what the deal entails and how it will impact the nation’s electric utilities.
Nuts and Bolts of the Infrastructure Deal
The infrastructure deal has been touted by the Biden administration as the “largest investment in clean energy transmission in American history.” That’s a pretty lofty claim, especially since the energy portion represents less than 15% of the total funds associated with the agreement, and falls far short of the $320 billion that Biden initially had in mind for the energy sector. That said, it’s still a huge sum of money to be sure.
Overall, the agreement provides $73 billion to build thousands of miles of new, high-voltage transmission lines, as well as to develop new clean energy sources, plus another $7.5 billion to increase the number of electric vehicle charger stations in operation. The deal also removes some of the bureaucratic red tape historically associated with building clean energy sources and additional power lines, which should help on its own, irrespective of the dollar amount.
The $7.5 billion allocated for EV chargers is the first investment ever made in this arena by the federal government. Although it’s 95% less than what would be needed to meet Biden’s goal of building 500,000 new EV charging stations nationwide, it’s a decent start.
Other elements of the infrastructure deal include investments in smart grid technology and new, state-of-the-art technologies like mini nuclear plants, carbon dioxide emission-capturing equipment, and clean hydrogen technology, but the specific dollar amount to be allocated for these purposes is not known.
Overall, I like the deal. The country’s infrastructure is in desperate need of upgrading, and Biden’s infrastructure deal appears to be a good start down this path.
