President Biden’s signing of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, signifies a turning point in American history as the bipartisan legislation will prepare America’s infrastructure for future energy needs and help address climate disruption.

With the continuing rise in extreme weather incidents such as hurricanes, winter storms, wildfires and droughts, the need for resilient infrastructure in the face of these natural disasters is becoming dire. This legislation will meet that need, funding grants and grid modernization programs that will allow for deployment of advanced technology solutions and enhanced energy management systems to harden the nation’s grid. In addition, the bill also addresses pressing climate disruption concerns. Funding will equip America with infrastructure capable of driving grid sustainability as renewable energy sources are increasingly added into the system. This updated infrastructure will also support rapid electric vehicle adoption, further accelerating a shift to clean energy.

Modern and reliable energy infrastructure is critical to both America’s competitiveness in the global economy and protecting its citizens. We’ve seen numerous cases, from the Texas snowstorm to Hurricane Ida, that power outages are among the most damaging, disruptive, and deadliest impact of extreme weather. These events not only cost billions of dollars, but they also claim lives. Modernizing the power grid by incorporating additional renewable energy sources, increasing the distribution grid’s capacity, and adopting technologies such as distribution automation (DA) and IoT technology, will drive much greater resiliency.

This coincides with the findings from Itron’s survey of utility executives and informed consumers in our recent “Preparing for the Unexpected and the Inevitable: An Itron Resourcefulness Report.” The data shows that integrating renewables and modern grid infrastructure are the top two biggest challenges facing the utility industry. Furthermore, it reveals that in the next five years, the demand to meet EV charging requirements will greatly impact the grid. Utilities are looking to the future to prepare as they are extremely/very concerned about the grid and the impact of disasters (88%), handling demand from EVs (85%), integrating renewables (86%) and complying with environmental mandates (90%). Today’s legislation addresses these concerns.

With the enactment of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Administration’s commitment to promoting renewable and low carbon energy adoption, utilities will have the support needed for creating a resilient grid infrastructure that can enrich American’s lives while achieving a more resourceful and sustainable world. And while most of the focus of this historic legislation has been on infrastructure, America can also applaud the spirit of bipartisanship action that was required to pass it.