FEMA Reform Video Series: Mutual Aid & Pre-Positioning Cost Recovery Video Featuring Dan Sullivan, President/CEO, GRDA

August 3, 2026
FEMA Reform
Resilience
Videos
Reliability

When disaster strikes, every minute matters.

In Chapter 2 of LPPC's FEMA Reform Video Series, Daniel Sullivan, President & CEO of Grand River Dam Authority, explains how outdated FEMA reimbursement rules can unintentionally discourage utilities from sending and staging mutual aid crews before major storms.Public power utilities routinely mobilize crews across the country ahead of major events to restore power as quickly and safely as possible.

But if a storm changes course, most of those advance deployment costs are ineligible for FEMA reimbursement — even though proactive planning ensures a rapid response when communities need it most.LPPC believes FEMA should modernize its policies to support — not penalize — pre-event staging, pre-positioning, and mutual aid, in order to provide recovery efforts as soon as possible to lessen the impact of storms on communities.

Learn more about LPPC's principles for FEMA reform: lppc.org/fema-reform

Previous
Next
FEMA Reform Video Series: Mutual Aid & Pre-Positioning Cost Recovery Video Featuring Dan Sullivan, President/CEO, GRDA
LPPC's 2026 Task Force & Network Leadership Retreat in Kenmore Washington
LPPC Testimony & Policy Feedback Included as House Energy & Commerce Committee Advances 6 Energy Bills to the Full House of Representatives
LPPC Endorses the White House Ratepayer Protection Pledge
LPPC and APPA Provide Legislative & Regulatory History of Private Use Rules to Treasury: Urging Targeted Exception & Guidance for Public Power
New Affordability Study Finds LPPC Members' Rates Remain Lower than Inflation and Other Goods and Services
FERC is Protecting Customers in Large-Load Interconnection, while Public Power Seeks Reform from Treasury on Private Use
LPPC's New Senior Director of Policy & External Affairs Featured in Bond Buyer
LPPC Releases About One-Pager
LPPC Releases New FEMA Reform Report: Supporting Mutual Aid, Expediting Disaster Recovery, & Enhancing Resiliency
Bond Buyer Quotes LPPC in its Article "Public Power Alarmed by FEMA Reform"
LPPC Submits Comments to DHS on the Final Report of the President’s FEMA Review Council
LPPC Member's 2026 Interconnection Queues & Large Load Tariffs
President Tom Falcone Quoted in Bond Buyer Article: "Data Center Financing Assumptions Under Scrutiny"
Spring CEO Meeting
LPPC President Tom Falcone & President/CEO of Santee Cooper Jimmy Staton Share Perspectives on Large Loads at The Bond Buyer's Southeast Public Finance Conference
Nebraska Public Power District President and CEO Tom Kent Discusses How Permitting Delays Have Real Consequences to Reliability and Affordability
LPPC's Priorities on FEMA Reform
Public Power, Disaster Recovery, and FEMA
LPPC Names Sarah Vilms Senior Director of Policy and External Affairs
Tom Talk Episode 3: U.S. Department of the Treasury's Private Use Rules: The Problem Explained
LPPC President Tom Falcone Testifies Before House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy
Santee Cooper President and CEO Jimmy Staton Discusses Permitting Reform
LPPC Releases New Report | Priorities for Permitting Reform: Supporting Electric Reliability, Affordability, and Growth
LPPC Comments on FERC Docket on Large Load Interconnection
Grid Reliability, Retirements, and New Entry to Meet AI and Load Growth Leavebehind
Bring FEMA Act to the Floor: Nearly Half of House Representative Signatures on Bipartisan Letter to Leadership Represent LPPC Member Districts
LPPC Shares Letter to House Committee on Energy & Commerce's Subcommittee on Energy Prior to FERC Oversight Hearing
LPPC Signs on to Letter to U.S. Senate Urging Permitting Reform Legislation
The Grid Nobody Planned For: Public Power, Hyperscalers and the Race to Rewire America for the AI Age
LPPC Winter CEO Meeting
Public Power is Powering the Future of America’s Economy: LPPC Publishes NEW Private Business Use Report
As AI Booms, Data Centers May Create Electricity Scarcity Among Users
Energy Evolution Podcast: The race to rebuild the US power grid in the age of AI
Public Power's Response to Increased Energy Demand
To Maintain Energy Security and Win the AI Race, Federal Policy Must Take Proactive Steps to Unleash Public Power
How Increased Energy Demand Could Affect American Families
NPPD, OPPD, LES and GRDA Launch Joint Effort to Explore Advanced Nuclear Energy
LPPC Submits Comments to FERC on Proceeding on Interconnections for Data Centers and Large Loads
‘Phantom’ data centres muddy forecasts for US power needs
America's Future Growth Depends on Building New Energy Infrastructure Today
LPPC President Highlights Public Power’s Role in Meeting AI-Driven Energy Demand
LPPC President Joins USEA for Virtual Press Briefing on AI in the Electric Utility Space
The Bond Buyer Podcast: Surging energy demand, federal headwinds, and the $140B public power buildout
The POWER Podcast: Advocating for Public Power Companies
Public Power Leaders Discuss Surging Load, Reliability, Affordability, and Sustainability with Investors and the Financial Community
US public power sector weighs risks and rewards of data center customers
Large Public Power Utility CEOs Convene in New York to Tackle Surging Electricity Demand
Data Centers That Don’t Exist Yet Are Already Haunting the Grid
Meeting AI Power Demand Means More Renewables, Grid Officials Say
RTO Insider Covers LPPC at USEA Virtual Press Briefing
The Outdated Tax Rule Holding Back Big Infrastructure
LPPC Supports Bipartisan FEMA Reform Bill to Strengthen Disaster Recovery
LPPC Thanks White House & Congress for Supporting Public Power Communities
Triple Digit Temperatures are Coming, and Public Power is Ready
LPPC Calls for FEMA Reform While Emphasizing Need for Continued Federal Grants
Industry Groups Back FEMA as ‘Essential’ Disaster Agency
LPPC Member CEOs Head to Capitol Hill
The Hidden Costs of Eliminating Energy Tax Credits
Public Utilities Would Feel Pain if Muni Tax Exemption Goes
LPPC Op-ed: Growing Demand for Electricity Requires New Policy Solutions
LPPC Welcomes EPA’s Decision To Reconsider The Power Plant CO2 Rule
Forbes Covers LPPC at USEA Press Briefing
Bill restoring tax-exempt advance refunding introduced in House
Gov. Hochul looks to advance nuclear power as wind energy faces headwinds
What is and isn’t in Trump’s National Energy Emergency Order
Policy Outlook for 2025: Everything Leads Back to Demand
Is Public Power a Better Model for Meeting Data Center Demand?
LPPC’s Post-Election Forum Convenes Policymakers and Public Power Leaders to Address Rapidly Growing Demand for Electricity
LPPC President-Elect: Treasury’s New Elective Pay Guidance a “Significant Step Forward” for Public Power Customers
Rising Electric Demand Calls for Solutions
LPPC Ready to Partner with President and Congress to Power Growth
The State of Public Power Advocacy: John Di Stasio & Tom Falcone Share Their Insights
President’s Post: The Connection Between Federal Energy Policy & Clean Energy
Large Public Power Council Announces Tom Falcone as President-Elect
LPPC Grows Membership with the Addition of Lincoln Electric System
LPPC Announces Jackie Flowers and Javier Fernandez as New Chair and Vice Chair
LPPC Responds to FERC’s Final Transmission Planning Rule
LPPC Issues Statement on EPA's Final Power Plant Rule
Public Power Leaders Attend LPPC’s Inaugural Members Conference
Broad coalition floats cost containment proposal as FERC eyes final grid rule
Groups Urge Inclusion of Cost Containment in FERC Tx Planning Rule
Energy Groups Press Regulators to Scrutinize Power Grid Costs
LPPC and Advocacy Groups Advance Transmission Planning Cost Management Proposal at FERC
LPPC Discusses Electrification at USEA's 2024 State of the Energy Industry Forum
PUF Covers LPPC Grid Reliability Event with Sen. Kevin Cramer
LPPC Hosts a Discussion on Reliability with Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND)
Where Community Matters Most
LPPC Announces Tom Falcone, CEO of LIPA, and Jackie Flowers, Director of Utilities at Tacoma Public Utilities, as New Chair and Vice Chair
Commentary: Look no further than Long Island for a case for public power
Navigating the Path to a Sustainable and Reliable Power Supply
Clearing the Path for Permitting Reform
Leading on Clean Energy Expansion
Fitch Says Deleveraging Era Over For Public Power Utilities
LPPC Welcomes Nashville Electric Service as Newest Member
IRS guidance on renewable tax credit transferability, direct-pay provisions of IRA, garners mixed reviews
Treasury Proposes Rules on Monetizing Energy Tax Credits
Domestic Content Rules for Direct Pay Continue to Lack Clarity and Certainty
President’s Post: Permitting Reform & Protecting Direct Pay Priorities as LPPC CEOs Meet with Members of Congress
US Releases Made-in-America Rules for Clean Energy Credits