La Plata Electric Association, Inc. (LPEA) has been awarded a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) as part of the Wildfire Assessment and Resilience for Networks (WARN) project. This substantial grant, funded under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law under the Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) Program, is a significant step towards delivering affordable, clean electricity to LPEA members while also helping to strengthen the grid.

LPEA will use the grant for enhanced satellite imaging to prioritize vegetation management along power lines and to convert overhead lines to underground in high wildfire potential areas that create the biggest threats to life and property. The cooperative has one of the most rigorous tree-trimming programs in the state, having already completed approximately 300 miles of line clearing in 2023, resulting in only 34 tree-caused outages.

Jessica Matlock, LPEA’s CEO, emphasized, “Fire mitigation is a priority for LPEA, and we’re excited to leverage technology to better prepare for the prevention of outages and the risk of wildfires.”