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Not so fast, Joe.
image credit: Photo 24650084 / Energy © Huating | Dreamstime.com
President Joe Biden has proven eager to brand his initiatives as equitable ever since he was elected to office in 2020. The grid is no exception. About a year ago, the Department of Energy announced plans to spur solar and storage development in low- and moderate-income areas as part of the agency’s justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) initiative. Likewise, in his big infrastructure plan, of which the grid is a part, Biden has emphasized equity.
However, as this recent Politico article points out, the federal government wouldn't ultimately have much control over where the money goes. Here's how it's explained in the article:
"Biden’s inability to control how a large portion of the infrastructure money gets spent is largely due to legal constraints. About 75 percent of the infrastructure law will be distributed to states via a complicated formula set by existing statute, including the bulk of federal highway dollars."
As far as grid spending goes, it would be a real shame if poor communities didn't get their fair share of investment. For many decades now, wealthy area codes have disproportionately gotten upgrades that have left them with better reliability and even cheaper rates over the longterm. Especially now with electricity bills climbing, it's important to help disadvantaged communities.
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