Obama Administration proposes billions to overhaul energy infrastructure

Susan Phillips

Recent Stories

Susan Phillips tells stories about the consequences of political decisions on people's every day lives. She has worked as a reporter for WHYY since 2004. Susan's coverage of the 2008 Presidential election resulted in a story on the front page of the New York Times. In 2010 she traveled to Haiti to cover the earthquake. That same year she produced an award-winning series on Pennsylvania's natural gas rush called "The Shale Game." She received a 2013 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Journalism Award for her work covering natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania. She has also won several Edward R. Murrow awards for her work with StateImpact. In 2013/14 she spent a year at MIT as a Knight Science Journalism Fellow. She has also been a Metcalf Fellow, an MBL Logan Science Journalism Fellow and reported from Marrakech on the 2016 climate talks as an International Reporting Project Fellow. A graduate of Columbia School of Journalism, she earned her Bachelor's degree in International Relations from George Washington University.

April 21, 2015 | 8:22 PM

Vice President Joe Biden, right, accompanied by Mayor Michael Nutter tours the headquarters of PECO energy company in Philadelphia, Tuesday, April 21, 2015. The White House has released a four-year energy plan, Quadrennial Energy Review, designed to fight climate change, modernize power plants and find other ways to ensure the nation a steady supply of safe energy.

Matt Rourke / AP Photo

Vice President Joe Biden, right, accompanied by Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter tours the headquarters of PECO energy company in Philadelphia, Tuesday. The White House has released the Quadrennial Energy Review, designed to modernize the nation’s energy infrastructure.

The Obama Administration wants to spend billions of dollars to upgrade the nation’s energy infrastructure. That means replacing pipelines, making the grid more resilient against terrorism or cyber attacks, preparing the systems for rising sea levels, improving data on crude-by-rail, reducing emissions from natural gas infrastructure, and modernizing the electrical grid.

The White House chose to roll out the first ever “Quadrennial Energy Review” in Philadelphia, which has struggled to keep pace with replacing its own aging natural gas pipes, and is trying to position itself as an East Coast “energy hub.”

Vice President Joe Biden and Energy Secretary Ernie Moniz toured a PECO Energy facility in Philadelphia Tuesday before speaking to area business leaders.

PECO received a $200 million dollar federal stimulus grant back in 2009 to upgrade its transmission system. The electric and gas utility serves a six-county area that includes Philadelphia and its suburbs.

This first Quadrennial Energy Review focuses exclusively on infrastructure and is part of President Obama’s Climate Action Plan.

Matt Rourke / AP Images

Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, left, and Vice President Joe Biden tour the headquarters of PECO energy company in Philadelphia, Tuesday, April 21, 2015.

Vice President Joe Biden told those assembled at PECO headquarters that it’s meant to address both climate change and the nation’s booming energy industry.

“The United States is in the midst of an energy transformation that will allow us to remain the energy epicenter of the world in the 21^st century,” said Biden. “But to maintain that position we need a 21^st Century infrastructure.”

Biden said that systems in place to transport energy from its source to the power plants, and eventually to homes and businesses, need a major overhaul.

“It involves complex networks, and pipelines, transmission lines, storage facilities above and below ground and it’s increasingly outdated, much of it built decades ago,” he said.

The Administration’s proposals would cost between about $13 billion to $15.5 billion in new spending and tax breaks. It includes $2.5 to $3.5 billion for states to help replace aging natural gas distribution lines.