The Trump administration’s plan to cancel billions of dollars for energy projects following the U.S. government shutdown i
ncludes an initiative to upgrade electric transmission lines in California.
A consortium that inc
luded the California Energy Commission and Southern California Edison was awarded a federal grant of $600 million for
the upgrade last year, which was to allow faster access to clean energy. But that project — slated to improve 100 miles
of transmission lines — will have its funding cut, according to a list from the Department of Energy.
The California Energy Commission, Southern California Edison, an
d PG&E Corporation, which is also a partner in the project, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Shares of Edison International, which operates Southern California Edison, fell as much as 2.3% before the start of regular trading in New York on Thursday.
The department plans to terminate financial awards supporting 223 projects, which is expected to result
in savings of about $7.6 billion, according to a statement Wednesday. That includes hydrogen hubs in California and the Pacific Northwest.
Other canceled awards include hundreds of millions of dollars of grants for grid improvements to a range of utilities and energy service provider
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s and carbon capture demonstration projects, according to the Ene
rgy Department list. Some of the awards on the list, including projects to make climate-friendly cement, were previously announced by the department in May.
More than a quarter of the canceled funding, totaling more than $3.1 billion, were awarded between Election
Day and Inauguration Day, the Energy Department said.
The cuts followed a review by the department to ensure project
s that won funds under former President Joe Biden were financia
lly sound, and consistent with Trump administration policies. The termination of funding can be appealed within 30 days, and some ventures have
already begun that process, according to the statement, without identifying them.
The Biden administration previously announced as much as $2.2 billion would be awarded for the hydrogen hubs —
a broad network of producers and consumers spanning multiple states — as part of its effort to spur development of the clean-burning source of power.
The funding eliminations for green projects in Democratic-leaning states was flagged by White House Budget Director Russell Vought. It also comes as the Trum
p administration plans to lean into hardball tactics to pressure Democrats to end the US government shutdown that began on Wednesday.
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