‘Fix don’t nix’ FEMA public assistance

After every storm your co-op crews head out, often before the sun is up. Neighbors check on neighbors. We do what rural communities have always done. We also rely on a federal partner that helps make the lights come back on faster and bills stay manageable. That partner is Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Electric co-ops are not-for-profit and owned by the people we serve. Co-ops keep the lights on across most of rural America, including 92% of persistent poverty counties. When disasters hit, FEMA’s public assistance program funds help repair poles, wires and substations so families are not left with steep bills to rebuild essential services. Without that support the costs land directly on co-op members.

No one is saying FEMA is perfect. Co-ops know the pain points well. Funding approvals take a long time. Paperwork is heavy. Rules can be interpreted differently from one region to another. However, the answer is not to scrap the agency, but instead to make it work better. Co-ops support reforms that speed reimbursements, cut red tape and improve transparency so communities recover faster and taxpayers see results.

There is a bipartisan path to do exactly that. The Fixing Emergency Management for Americans Act of 2025, HR 4669, would require FEMA to reimburse emergency work within set timelines, review permanent work cost estimates within 90 days and disburse funds within 30 days after approval. It would allow systems to be rebuilt stronger instead of only as they were and would elevate FEMA as an independent cabinet-level agency to sharpen its mission. It would also improve access to hazard mitigation funds that strengthen the grid before the next storm.

Our national organaztion, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), supports these changes because FEMA is a crucial partner in power restoration. Reforming the agency will help rural communities recover faster, protect public dollars and keep essential services affordable for nearly 900 local electric cooperatives that serve 42 million Americans. A smarter FEMA helps every one of them when disaster strikes.

We have seen what works. You may recall October 2020. A storm system brought an ice storm warning for most of central and parts of western Oklahoma and was considered historic due to its early fall timeline. At its peak, Oklahoma’s electric cooperatives experienced more than 76,000 outages. FEMA support helped co-ops restore service and rebuild. That kind of coordination steadies local economies at a time when families need stability the most. The right approach is to fix FEMA, not dismantle it.

Our position is simple and nonpartisan. Keep what works. Fix what does not. Rural communities deserve a disaster response system that is fast, fair and accountable. On behalf of the member-owners we serve, I support reforms that modernize FEMA so we can restore power quickly, invest in resilience and keep electricity affordable after the storm.

By Nicki Fuller

General Manager | Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives