DOE Cancels Tribal Energy Access Corridor
OSPA is surprised and bitterly disappointed over U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright’s cancellation of the pending designation of the Tribal Energy Access Corridor on August 12, 2026. Congress created the National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor (NIETC) program to identify places in the country that would especially benefit from investment in transmission upgrades. These are also areas where it was extremely hard to convince utilities and investors to make the investments needed to upgrade the existing, inadequate transmission infrastructure.
Our reservations are such a place – the OSPA member Tribes are among the poorest in the country and occupy the most remote rural areas of South Dakota. The national power grid here is old and inadequate – it has suffered from generations of underinvestment. Modernizing the power grid will enable the Tribes to develop their geothermal, wind and solar resources – which are among the best in the country – and this development will bring literally hundreds of millions of dollars to the poorest Tribes in the nation, tens of millions of dollars to State and local governments, and hundreds of jobs.
In announcing the cancellation, Secretary Wright went out of his way to insult the Tribes. He said: “Transmission policy must serve the American people – not special interests or a climate-alarmist agenda . . . .” and went on to call the Tribal Energy Access Corridor “a means to advance their Green New Scam agenda. . . .” Why would a U.S. Secretary of Energy talk to Tribes like this? Four sovereign Tribal nations that are trying to secure for their people the same access to modern, adequate power transmission that the Secretary enjoys in North Dakota and Washington DC are not “special interests,” “alarmists” or “scammers.” It is clear that Secretary Wright only had one reason to cancel the Tribal Energy Access Corridor – to cater to his boss’ bizarre hate obsession with wind farms.
The actions of both DOE and the SD PUC in cancelling the Tribal Energy Access Corridor are reprehensible – both the outcome, and the secretive, backroom process they used to get there – and an affront to Tribal sovereignty and the rule of law. Tribes have a right to the same quality transmission infrastructure that most Americans enjoy and the federal government has an obligation under treaties and the federal trust responsibility to fulfil this long overdue responsibility. OSPA calls on Secretary Wright to reverse his decision and to certify the Tribal Energy Access Corridor.
Click here to read the full statement of protest of the Oceti Sakowin Power Authority.
