Preventing Outages With Enhanced Resilience and Operations Nationwide Act of 2021 or the POWER ON Act of 2021
This bill provides incentives for enhancing the resilience of the electric power grid to natural disasters and strengthening the emergency response and management of the grid.
Specifically, the bill requires the Department of Energy (DOE) to establish an electric grid resilience program. Under the program, DOE must provide grants to states and Indian tribes for projects that enhance the physical resilience of the electric grid to natural disasters.
In addition, DOE must establish a research, development, demonstration, and commercial application program to enhance resilience and strengthen emergency response and management of the electric grid. Under the program, DOE must award grants to improve the resilience of the electric grid by developing technologies and capabilities to withstand and address the current and projected impact on electric grid infrastructure of natural disasters, such as wildfires.