Northern Lights gets federal $ for local utility work

Federal money continues to roll in to pay for the considerable costs associated with the massive damage caused by flooding and severe wind that occurred since last December.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency recently announced the approval of more than $2.4 million in post-disaster funding for Public Assistance and Fire Management Assistance Grants in Montana. 

Locally, Northern Lights, Inc. received more than $488,000 for repair and replacement of utility poles and transformers.

According to information from Northern Lights, during the March windstorm, Bonneville Power Administration experienced an outage on its transmission line running from the Samuels, Idaho, area to Troy. This caused an outage for many NLI members. 

BPA owns and operates transmission lines across a large geographical area, and it can take some time for its crew to arrive and remove a tree from a line or make a repair. NLI crews often spot the trouble first and let BPA know the location of the problem area.

During the storm in December, Northern Lights had more than 50 broken poles, and in March, there were more than 40 broken poles. During both wind events, NLI brought in line contractors and mutual-aid crews from nearby utilities to help.  

Also, the Montana Disaster and Emergency Services got more than $160,000 for disaster management costs.

These programs help states, local communities, tribes and territories to recover from disasters, rebuild safer and more resilient communities and protect infrastructure from future events.

With this funding, President Donald J. Trump is keeping his promise to reform federal disaster support and ensure that taxpayer money is spent only on projects and programs that deliver safety and security to the American people.

The funding approved includes nearly $1.8 million under FEMA’s Public Assistance program awarded across the state.  

FEMA disburses this money to states and local communities because they are best positioned to know how these funds will be most effectively spent. 

The Public Assistance program will fund projects that include repairs to critical infrastructure, restoration of public buildings, road repairs and reimbursement for costs incurred to ensure public health and safety after a disaster. 

These awards are the latest example of billions of dollars in disaster recovery provided by FEMA to support state and local communities as they work to rebuild from recent natural disasters. 

FEMA continues its renewed commitment to help communities recover from disasters such as hurricanes, severe storms, tornadoes and wildfires while making them more resilient from future disasters.