FCC Focused on Energy Industry Efforts to Build Smart Grids: Starks

The FCC is focused on efforts to build a smart power grid, Commissioner Geoffrey Starks told the 2023 Clean Energy Transition Conference, according to text of the speech in Wednesday’s Daily Digest. Smart grids “show a clear path to tap into more renewable sources, strengthen our resilience in the wake of more frequent and more severe natural disasters, squeeze power routing efficiencies, and lower consumer costs on their utility bills,” he said. Starks highlighted a USF program push to connect more than 700,000 unserved rural locations with high-speed fixed broadband. “We’re also helping every community in America migrate to mobile 5G by increasing access to spectrum, accelerating deployment and supporting rural buildout through initiatives like our 5G Fund,” he said: “This is about much more than gaming and movies.”