Horan Reports Work Continues To Secure More State Funding For Grid
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District 34 Representative Kevin Horan (standing) provided a legislative update for city officials during the monthly meeting on April 2.
WATER VALLEY – District 34 Representative Kevin Horan reported he is working to get state funds appropriated to assist the Water Valley Electric Department. Horan’s comments came during a legislative update to city officials during the meeting at city hall on April 2.
Horan also said he has been in contact with Reynolds during the 2024 Legislative Session and understands that each dollar appropriated for the electric department will be matched by federal funding from the GRIP Program.
“Rest assured, your mayor has been calling me at least every other day to talk about some of the issues we are trying to resolve. He was one of the first to tell me about Water Valley being in the GRIP program, that is going to be great for Water Valley,” Horan said.
“The only thing I ask of the board is an update on the plan moving forward so when I present my request to Chairman (Trey) Lamar, and we sit around the table cussing and discussing about money that we need, I want to have a plan that is in place as opposed to just asking for a million dollars for the city,” Horan requested.
Horan also said the matching money from GRIP will help leverage his request for the city.
“I think that is going to be instrumental in allowing us to get a pretty significant appropriation for the city. I can’t tell you how much that is going to be, but hopefully it is going to be similar to what we got in past years.”
Mayor Tommy Reynolds, in his former role as state representative, successfully lobbied for $1.25 million in state funding that was allocated during the 2022 and 2023 legislative session. This funding and an additional $367,524 from the Delta Regional Commission for a total of $1,617,524 will be matched by the Department of Energy’s Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) Program to help fund grid improvements. Any additional funding allocated by state lawmakers or from other sources will also be matched by GRIP.
Last month Reynolds announced that Water Valley was selected by Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) as one of 20 municipalities across TVA’s five state coverage area that will participate in GRIP.
