Helping southern Maine businesses be more resilient to power outages as a result of severe weather events is the goal of a new collaboration known as the Southern Maine Energy Resilience Plan.

Power outages from weather-related disasters are a significant hazard in Maine, which experiences blackouts at some of the highest frequencies in the entire United States, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Frequent power outages can incur large costs to public works departments and to the region’s businesses. At the same time, increasing electrification and renewable energy are creating a greater demand on our electric grid. Recent local Climate Action Planning efforts have identified regional energy resilience planning as a priority for southern Maine businesses and communities.

“While upgrading grid infrastructure is the responsibility of electricity utilities, there are many actions that the southern Maine region, its business sector, and local governments, can take to build upon and coordinate with utility efforts to increase energy resilience, said Karina Graeter, sustainability director for Southern Maine Planning and Development Commission (SMPDC), which is spearheading this effort. “Reducing the impact of power outages will help businesses stay open or re-open more quickly after outages due to extreme weather, saving them money and increasing job retention.”

SMPDC has been awarded $400,000 in federal grant funds from the Economic Development Administration (EDA) to develop the plan, which is a response to needs identified through the Climate Action Planning (CAP) Cohort project. The 18-month planning process will bring together a stakeholder group that includes local municipalities, and industrial and commercial businesses, to identify energy reliability challenges and local and regional resilience measures, and propose areas for cooperation and partnership.

“The planning process will include a comprehensive energy vulnerability assessment to identify disaster and climate risks to economic assets, infrastructure, businesses, and industrial sectors,” Graeter said. “We will identify actions to reduce those risks and strengthen our region’s electric grid. These could include the creation of mini-grids for critical infrastructure using renewable energy, batteries, and generators to keep critical facilities and services functioning. In addition, the project will look at recommending land use ordinance amendments such as ‘undergrounding’ power, and adopting new technologies that play a vital role in strengthening economic resilience.”

Members of Maine’s Congressional Delegation helped secure the funding. “As we saw in last year’s storms, Maine’s southern and coastal communities are especially vulnerable to power outages,” U.S. Senator Angus King said. “The good news is that we can improve our energy resiliency by harnessing the expertise and resources of both the private and public sectors to increase affordable energy resilience. As we head into another winter, this forward-looking effort will drive long-term stability for local economies and neighborhoods impacted by power outages from future weather events. It’s truly a win-win for Maine communities across the state.”

“As climate change continues to fuel stronger storms here in Maine, creating a more resilient power grid will be critical,” U.S. Representative Chellie Pingree said. “As we’ve seen during the past few winters, extended power outages can wreak havoc on our communities – and our businesses. Grants like these help encourage the kind of collaborative partnerships we need to improve economic and energy resilience both now and into the future. I applaud SMPDC for leading the way on this important initiative, which I believe will create a powerful precedent for what’s possible when local government, businesses, and community stakeholders work together to address our most pressing challenges.”

Visit smpdc.org/capcohort for more details.