The Wildfire and Grid Reliability Act directs the Secretary of Energy to create a federal grant program to help electric utilities make their power grids more reliable and reduce wildfire risks caused by power lines. Eligible recipients include publicly owned utilities, municipal utilities, cooperatives, and investor-owned utilities, which can use grant funds for projects like burying power lines, upgrading equipment, installing monitoring systems, managing vegetation, and building microgrids for community resilience. The bill requires at least 40 percent of funds to go toward wildfire risk reduction and 20 percent toward small utilities serving fewer than 4 million megawatt-hours annually; most recipients must match federal grants dollar-for-dollar, though small utilities need only match one-third of the award amount. The program authorizes $15 billion annually for fiscal years 2027 through 2036, and the Secretary must submit biennial reports to Congress documenting improvements in grid reliability and reductions in wildfire risk caused by power infrastructure.
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