The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Electricity on Thursday, 24 September 2026, announced selections under its Speed to Power through Accelerated Reconductoring and other Key Advanced Transmission Technology Upgrades (SPARK) initiative: 31 grid-improvement projects across 26 states, according to the department’s primary release. The projects are to receive $5.25 billion in total — $1.9 billion in federal funding from DOE and $3.35 billion in recipient cost-share — to improve grid reliability and lower electricity costs for approximately 100 million Americans, the release states.
Project recipients are expected to reconductor or rebuild more than 1,500 miles of transmission lines and deploy Grid-Enhancing Technologies (GETs) across nearly 21,000 miles. Together, those efforts will make over 23 gigawatts of additional electricity capacity available, DOE said. Energy Secretary Chris Wright framed the announcement as reinforcing “commonsense energy addition policies that lower electricity prices and strengthen our grid,” saying the investments will “get more out of the infrastructure we already have, move more electricity across the grid, and help deliver affordable, reliable, and secure power.” Office of Electricity Assistant Secretary Catherine Jereza said the selected SPARK projects put advanced transmission technologies to work, modernizing critical infrastructure, maximizing capacity of existing lines, and unlocking more than 20 gigawatts of additional grid capacity, and that DOE is “moving with urgency to strengthen our grid, lower costs, and ensure America has the energy infrastructure needed to power the next generation of economic growth.”
DOE ties the selections to President Trump’s Executive Order on Unleashing American Energy. Selected projects, the release says, demonstrate how reconductoring — replacing existing power lines with higher-capacity conductors — paired with other Advanced Transmission Technologies can expand grid capacity, increase operational efficiency, lower prices for families and businesses, and improve overall system reliability and security. By maximizing existing rights-of-way, the department says, the projects will eliminate congestion bottlenecks and avoid expensive greenfield construction, lowering operating costs to help reduce consumer electricity bills. SPARK selections are also described as strengthening grid resilience by mitigating wildfire hazards, preventing blackouts, and protecting against severe weather. The strategy, DOE states, bypasses the multi-decade timelines typically required to build entirely new transmission corridors.
SPARK is funded through the Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) program — money from the Biden-era infrastructure law, as Associated Press reporting carried by The Washington Post notes in same-day coverage of Wright’s announcement. DOE also released a Speed to Power Request for Information analysis that gathered industry feedback to help inform SPARK’s funding-opportunity design, the department said. A full list of selected projects is posted with the primary release.
Wright announced the package at a PPL Corp. facility in Allentown, Pennsylvania, AP via The Washington Post reported. Among the selections, PPL is set for $71.5 million for about 30 miles of work in northern Pennsylvania, per that same-day AP/WaPo account of the Allentown event.
What to watch: how selections convert into obligated awards and construction schedules; which of the 31 projects move first; and whether the expected mileages and gigawatt figures track once lines are rebuilt and GETs are installed.
Floor: DOE OE SPARK 24 Sep 2026 — 31 projects / 26 states; $1.9B federal + $3.35B recipient cost-share = $5.25B total; >1,500 miles reconductoring/rebuild; GETs across ~21,000 miles; >23 GW additional capacity; ~100 million Americans. Wright + OE AS Jereza. Funded via GRIP (Biden-era infrastructure law money). Wright Allentown PPL event; PPL $71.5M for ~30 miles northern PA (AP/WaPo). Primary energy.gov + AP/WaPo 24 Sep.