National Rural Electric Cooperative Association will push federal legislators for permitting and supply chain reform in a lobbying push effort to begin next week

Rural cooperative utilities, which serve nearly 60% of the American landmass and own 43% of distribution lines, join an investor-owned and municipal utilities call on Congress to make it easier to build electric infrastructure -- from solar farms and transmission lines to natural gas-power backup substations.

The U.S. power sector has struggled to keep up with climate-driven initiatives to decarbonize the country's electrical grid by electrifying transportation, buildings and industry, primarily with the use of renewable energy sources, while phasing out fossil fuels.

The group will also ask Congress to supply funding to facilitate the increased production of electrical components, primarily distribution transformers, which have been limited by COVID-era supply chain constraints and increasing demand.

Source: Reuters