CANYON CITY – Grant County applied for and received a $50,000 grant from the Oregon Department of Energy to develop an energy resilience plan, the DOE announced in a press release.

“Energy resilience plans — and the actions to implement them —  will strengthen the ability of a community to maintain or quickly recover the energy systems needed to support critical public services during disruptions to the state’s larger energy systems,” the release said.

Grant County Emergency Management Coordinator Eric Bush said a “specialized contractor will help pull info from all over the county” to create the plan. Bush said energy inventory, the biggest vulnerabilities and strategies to mitigate those vulnerabilities will all be compiled.

Bush said public meetings in communities throughout the county focused on energy resilience also would be part of creating the plan. The end goal is to have an overall plan for energy emergencies.

“It’ll be part of an updated emergency operations plan,” Bush said.

Nineteen Oregon counties applied for and received grant funding totaling $950,000. Baker, Benton, Clastop, Columbia, Grant, Harney, Malheur, Lake Tillamook, Union and Wheeler Counties each received $50,000 grants to develop their own energy resilience plans.

Hood River, Gilliam, Sherman and Wasco Counties are pooling their resources as cohorts. Crook, Deschutes and Jefferson counties are doing the same.

“A well-thought-out plan is crucial to strengthening resilience and responding quickly after a disruption to our energy system,” ODOE Director Janine Benner said in the press release. “We’re proud to support counties as they plan for their unique resilience needs.”

Plans are due to ODOE no later than Aug. 1.