DEQ Awards $10.34M to Improve Electricity Resilience and Reliability in Rural Montana

HELENA—In partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has awarded funding to 10 grid resilience projects across the state to strengthen electric infrastructure and improve reliability for Montana communities.  

The projects will help utilities upgrade aging infrastructure, reduce outage frequency, shorten restoration times following storms and extreme weather events, and strengthen system reliability in high-risk areas. DEQ Director, Sonja Nowakowski, praised the projects, saying, “DEQ is proud to champion these projects to ensure reliable energy supply for the rural communities these projects serve. Utility customers in these areas will benefit from improved reliability, because the utilities will be able to better anticipate, prepare for and adapt to changing conditions as well as respond and recover from disruptions that do occur.” 

The two largest awards were granted to Montana-Dakota Utilities (MDU) and Ravalli Electric Cooperative (Ravalli Electric). 

MDU received a $3 million grant to rebuild a transmission line on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation near Poplar. With the project MDU will replace an aging, nearly 70-year-old 7.9-mile segment of existing 60 kilovolt (kV) transmission line. The replacement 115 kV double circuit line is expected to increase transmission capacity, reduce the risk of transmission-related wildfires, and improve reliability to the electrical customers on the Fort Peck Reservation.  

“This investment is an important step in strengthening the electric transmission system serving the Fork Peck Indian Reservation and the surrounding region,” said Rob Frank, director of electric transmission engineering for Montana-Dakota Utilities. “With support from DEQ and the U.S. Department of Energy, this project will help us deliver safer, more reliable electric to the customers and communities we serve.”  

Ravalli Electric was awarded $2.9 million to bury 21.3 miles of overhead power lines and invest in new system monitoring control equipment. The project will focus on high-risk wildfire hazard areas near Hamilton, eliminating the possibility of wildfire ignition or outages due to fallen trees on this line segment. The new system monitoring and control equipment will allow utility managers to reduce the number of homes impacted when outages occur.  

Ravalli Electric Cooperative, Chief Operating Officer Kyle Kearns said, “The project to underground more than 21 miles of overhead power lines in high wildfire risk areas of Ravalli County will significantly strengthen the cooperative’s electric system. These improvements will provide safer, more resilient electric service for the rural communities and 538 member-consumers served by this portion of the grid.” 

In addition to MDU and Ravalli Electric, other awards include: 

• City of Troy: $141,788 to install advanced metering infrastructure (AMI);  

• Marias River Electric Cooperative: $548,264 to install advanced circuit breakers and monitoring and control technologies; 

• McCone Electric Cooperative: $306,417 to install equipment with remote monitoring systems;  

• Northern Lights Inc.: $1,923,647 to upgrade 4.5 miles of overhead distribution line and bury 1.25 miles of line; and,  
• NorthWestern Energy: four projects totaling $4,545,484 to complete engineering studies and resilience related upgrades (pole replacements, reconductoring, transformer replacements) in the Missoula, Billings, Bozeman, and Great Falls areas. 

Montana Energy Infrastructure Resilience Grant Program (EIRGP) awards grants through a competitive process with funding made available under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed by Congress in 2021. Additional funding opportunities are now available through a Request for Application found on DEQ’s website. The deadline for applying is September 17, 2026.