HOUSTON, MS — August 14, 2026 — Natchez Trace Electric Power Association (NTEPA) today announced it has been awarded a $1 million federal grant through the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Grid Resilience Grant Program. Administered in partnership with the Mississippi Development Authority (MDA), the funds will support a comprehensive $1.8 million grid modernization project designed to enhance electric reliability, resiliency, and outage response across some of the most rural areas in the cooperative’s service territory.
Operating one of the most rural electric distribution systems in the state, NTEPA will deploy more than 120 new reclosers, voltage regulators, and capacitor banks on its longest and most remote circuits.
These critical infrastructure upgrades will:
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Isolate Faults & Reduce Outage Scope: Enable faster isolation of line disruptions, significantly reducing the number of members impacted during an outage.
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Improve Power Quality: Stabilize and improve voltage levels for members at the outer reaches of long rural distribution lines.
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Enable Future Smart-Grid Communications: Position the cooperative to integrate remote automated control and diagnostics across its expanding fiber network.
“Investing in rural grid modernization is essential for our system to perform at its best,” said Shawn Edmondson, General Manager of Natchez Trace EPA. “While no equipment can prevent every outage, these improvements make our grid substantially more resilient and drastically improve our response times when storms or disruptions occur. Over the past few years, equipment costs have surged by over 60%. Securing this $1 million grant allows us to make vital infrastructure investments while protecting our members' wallets and keeping electric rates lower than the national average. It’s our job to balance affordability with reliability, and pursuing grants like this is a key part of that commitment.”
A Community-Driven Effort
NTEPA extends its sincere appreciation to the Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) for their exceptional leadership and program design as grant administrator, as well as the U.S. Department of Energy.
This award was made possible through broad regional collaboration and strong letters of support from local elected leaders, community organizations, and agricultural and commercial partners, including:
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Elected Officials & Public Leadership:
U.S. Representative Trent Kelly; Mayor Patti Pettit (Town of Woodland); Mayor Lamar Dumas (City of Eupora); Yalobusha County Board of Supervisors; Webster County Board of Supervisors; Charles Bobo & Barney Wade (Calhoun County Board of Supervisors); and Margaret Futrel (Chickasaw County Board of Supervisors).
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Local Businesses & Community Partners:
Alan Moore (Iron Works of Houston); Alfred Pittman (Pittman Farms LLC); Patsy Gregory (Chickasaw Development Foundation); Sheila Freely (Calhoun Economic Development Association); Jim Blissard (Blissard Farms, LLC); Dr. Lorin Harvey (MAFES Pontotoc Ridge Experiment Station); Charles Parker (Parker Brothers Farm, LLC); Shane Pettit (Prestage Farms); Randy Reeves (R & R Lumber, Inc.); Bryson Rodgers (Rodgers Farms, LLC); and Kaitlyn Anderson (Southern Cultured Creamery).
About Natchez Trace Electric Power Association (NTEPA)
Headquartered in Houston, MS, Natchez Trace Electric Power Association is a member-owned electric cooperative dedicated to delivering safe, reliable, and affordable electric service to rural communities across north-central Mississippi.
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