On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Electricity announced plans to help advance 31 grid-improvement projects across 26 states, unlocking a total investment of $5.25 billion.

The effort is part of DOE’s new Speed to Power through Accelerated Reconductoring and other Key Advanced Transmission Technology Upgrades (SPARK) initiative. Under this framework, selected recipients will receive part of the $1.9 billion in federal grants, complemented by $3.35 billion in public and private cost-share commitments.

Some of the utilities selected for funding include large regional providers like PPL Electric, Duke Energy Carolinas, Eversource Energy, Alabama Power and smaller electric co-ops like Kit Carson Electric Cooperative.

The SPARK initiative’s federal funding is directed through DOE’s Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) program, designed to enhance grid resilience efforts of the U.S. power system amid the growing pressures of aging infrastructure, increased load demand and evolving cybersecurity threats.

“These investments will get more out of the infrastructure we already have, move more electricity across the grid, and help deliver affordable, reliable and secure power that will fuel American prosperity for decades to come,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright in a statement.

Project recipients are expected to take part in rebuilding more than 1,500 miles of transmission lines and deploy advanced grid-enhancing technologies across nearly 21,000 miles. By optimizing existing infrastructure, this strategy will bypass long interconnection queues associated with building new transmission corridors via greenfield construction, while eliminating grid congestion bottlenecks.

According to energy officials, the upgrades will add 23 GW of additional electricity capacity to the grid to improve future reliability while lowering electricity costs for approximately 100 million Americans.

“DOE is moving with urgency to strengthen our grid, lower costs, and ensure America has the energy infrastructure needed to power the next generation of economic growth,” added Catherine Jereza, assistant secretary of the Office of Electricity.