Electric Co-ops Mount Multipronged Campaign to Improve FEMA

About this episode

The episode discusses the importance of FEMA funding for electric co-ops and potential improvements through bipartisan legislation.

FEMA provides crucial funding to co-ops after disasters, allowing them to restore power faster and make their infrastructure more resilient while limiting related costs for members. But FEMA is far from perfect, with many co-ops facing issues with accessing funding. Hear from NRECA's Jim Matheson, Florida Electric Cooperatives Association's Mike Bjorklund and Vermont Electric Co-op's Rebecca Towne on why FEMA is so essential and how a bipartisan bill in Congress could improve the agency.

People in this episode

Guests: Jim Matheson, Mike Bjorklund, Rebecca Towne

Topics covered

• FEMA
• electric cooperatives
• disaster funding
• infrastructure resilience

Keywords

• bipartisan bill
• funding access
• disaster recovery

More episodes of Along Those Lines

• Unpacking the Surge in U.S. Electricity Demand · April 20, 2026 · 31 min
• Co-op Safety Conversation Evolves as Annual Summit Draws Record Interest · March 16, 2026 · 30 min
• Award-Winning CEO Shares Her Co-op's Communication Strategy · February 13, 2026 · 27 min
• Kate Steel Leads NRECA International Into Its Next Chapter · January 15, 2026 · 19 min
• Electric Co-ops Manage Unprecedented Data Center Growth · December 15, 2025 · 39 min
• NRECA Defense Summits Address Military's Evolving Energy Needs · November 10, 2025 · 28 min