COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho — Nearly four years after a massive wind storm slammed the Inland Northwest, a federal grant is helping Kootenai Electric improve the safety of some of their power lines.
Since 2017, the North Idaho electric cooperative has been moving roughly 50 miles of its overhead power lines underground. The work, which is comprised of 24 separate projects, is costing $10 million. A mitigation grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency is covering 75% of the work.
"Hopefully there’s going to be fewer outages. And we know our members are going to appreciate that as well," said Erika Neff, a Kootenai Electric spokeswoman. “It will also reduce fire risk and maintenance costs.”
The grant came in the wake of a November 2015 windstorm which knocked out power for 70 percent of Kootenai Electric's members, according to Neff. At the time, two separate FEMA disaster declarations were issued due to the wind and a snow storm which followed a few weeks later. KEC experienced $3.1 million in system-wide damage.
The sections of overhead lines being converted to underground lines represent some of KEC's more problematic areas. Some of the lines impacted in 2015 were in dense, forested areas that were remote and difficult to access, Neff said.
Areas undergoing the conversion projects include the West side of Lake Coeur d'Alene, Hayden Lake, Twin Lakes, Harrison, and Athol.
The FEMA grant, according to Neff, is rare for North Idaho. The last time Kootenai Electric received funds from the federal agency was in 1996 following the infamous ice storm that year.
“It feels really good," said Neff of the conversion work. “Hopefully our crews are getting less calls in the middle of the night.”
So far, KEC has completed 17 of the 24 conversion projects. The remaining work is expected to be completed by Aug. 2020.