BGE wins federal grant, plans to make $30.8 million investment in electric grid over four years
BALTIMORE -- BGE has been awarded a grant of $15.4 million to enhance electric grid reliability through the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, according to staff for the gas and electric company.
The grant funding comes from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Grant Program and supports President Joe Biden's Investing in America agenda, company staff said.
BGE is making a 50.1% funding match, which will amount to a $30.8 million investment over the next four years in nearly 70 route-miles of underground middle-mile fiber infrastructure, according to company staff.
The infrastructure project will help Maryland's residents by encouraging making it easier for underserved communities to access high-speed broadband service and improving the affordability of that service in Maryland, company staff said.
The project path touches Laurel, Elkridge, Columbia, Bowie, Glen Burnie, Linthicum, Brooklyn Park, and other communities in BGE's service area that would directly benefit from more affordable broadband options, according to company staff.
The project will bolster the country's national security by strengthening the middle-mile network, too, company staff said.
Some of the institutions that stand to benefit from the infrastructure product include:
- Bowie State University, a Historically Black College and University, is one of the 50 anchor institutions that will benefit from strengthened broadband service.
- 20 schools, two libraries, three healthcare providers, two higher education institutions, nine community centers, one police station, one fire station, and 12 other institutions will have access to improved broadband service when the project is completed in 2027.
- Nearby county government fiber networks along the project route.
- The project will enable additional communications redundancy and resiliency for Fort Meade and the agencies on site.
Additionally, BGE plans to connect 20 electric substations to the underground fiber backbone, which will enable grid interconnection of renewable energy resources, according to company staff.