Maloney Announces Nearly $4 Million FEMA Investment for Microgrid Installation in Four Corners Area of East Fishkill as Part of Ongoing Sandy Relief

WASHINGTON, Feb. 20 -- Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, D-New York, issued the following news release:

Representative Sean Patrick Maloney (NY-18) announced an investment of $3,998,729.00 through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to the state of New York to fund the construction of a microgrid to provide electricity to the Four Corners, East Fishkill electrical service area. The area has been previously identified as an area at-risk for long power outages after storms. This funding will allow local residents and businesses to maintain their access to electricity during an outage on the larger grid. The funding is made available through the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act as part of ongoing federal recovery efforts in response to Hurricane Sandy.

"We need to upgrade all of our electrical grids, but this is an important place to start since these improvements are long overdue," said Rep. Maloney. "I mean, this is the United States of America in 2019 - we shouldn't have folks sitting in the dark for days on end every time there's a storm."

Microgrids are local energy grids that can generate and distribute electricity to an area independent of its connection to a larger grid. During normal operation, the microgrid is integrated into a larger electrical grid, but during a severe storm or other power outage, the microgrid can function independently.

The microgrid project will include the construction of a new generator and associated equipment to serve approximately 327 residential, 19 non-residential, and 7 public properties in the event of supply interruption. The project is expected to be completed in 2022.

The Four Corners area has been historically vulnerable to electric service interruptions due to storm events outside the area. The microgrid will provide power to customers in the event of such a disruption. Additionally, should a disruption occur within the service area of the microgrid, this project will minimize that disruption due to only the local interruption needing to be repaired.