U.S. Department of Energy Visits Burbank as Grid Modernization Powers Everyday Life and the 2028 Olympics

On a hillside below the Starlight Bowl, a utility crew replacing power lines became the backdrop for a much larger story: Burbank’s electric grid is being rebuilt not only for the families, businesses and studios that depend on it every day, but also for the billions of viewers who will watch the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Federal, state, and local leaders gathered Wednesday, September 9th, for a live demonstration of Burbank Water and Power’s Grid Forward Project, a nearly $37 million modernization effort designed to expand capacity, reduce outages, improve wildfire safety and keep electricity affordable in the long run. The visit brought one of the nation’s top energy officials directly to an active Burbank work site, placing a local infrastructure project in the national spotlight.

The Honorable Catherine “Katie” Jereza, assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Electricity, joined California Energy Commission Supervisor, Alex Kovalick, and Mandip Samra, CEO/General Manager of Burbank Water & Power as crews demonstrated the work involved in converting Burbank’s aging 4-kilovolt distribution system to a modern 12-kilovolt system.

“Here in Burbank, reliable electricity is something families and businesses count on every hour of every day,” Jereza said. “When temperatures climb, winds pick up, or wildfire conditions threaten the region, that reliability becomes even more critical. Meeting these challenges requires more than getting a system running in the moment. It demands forward-looking investments that build a grid capable of serving communities safely, affordably, and efficiently. That is exactly the kind of work underway through the Burbank Grid Forward Project.”

The hillside location also highlighted Burbank’s wildfire mitigation work. BWP is installing covered conductor, power lines wrapped in a protective outer coating, in high-risk areas. If a line contacts a tree branch or another foreign object, the covering lowers the chance of ignition while also improving reliability.

For residents, the main message the department wants to get across is that Burbank is creating more room on the electrical system before demand outgrows it. Moving from 4 kV to 12 kV allows substantially more power to travel through existing utility corridors with greater efficiency. It is less about changing the electricity delivered to a wall outlet and more like widening a major artery so the entire system can carry more traffic with fewer bottlenecks.

Over the life of the project, approximately 30 circuit miles of distribution lines will be upgraded. BWP will also install new overhead and underground feeder circuits and supporting equipment. The work is part of a 10-year effort to replace the utility’s remaining 4 kV infrastructure block by block across the city, which has already been underway.

That added capacity matters as Burbank faces increasingly intense heat, growth in electric-vehicle charging, new development and the expanding power needs of the entertainment industry. It also gives the utility more flexibility to move electricity through the system when equipment is damaged or taken out of service, helping reduce both the likelihood and duration of outages.

The federal government is contributing $5.1 million through the Department of Energy Office of Electricity’s Grid Resilience State and Tribal Formula Grants Program. The grant is part of the nearly $37 million Grid Forward Project and allows BWP to move priority upgrades forward sooner than local funding alone might have allowed.

“These are the types of investments that make a real, tangible difference for the people who depend on the grid every day,” said Jereza. Her presence in Burbank underscored the significance of the project. Instead of discussing national grid policy from Washington, federal officials stood beside the lines, equipment and local workers putting those dollars to use. The demonstration offered a ground-level view of how federal investment becomes a more dependable power system for a community.

“This funding helps make it really important to make sure the upgrades happen and the electric infrastructure is in place, and we harden our infrastructure to protect it in the future,” said Samra. The stakes stretch far beyond residential streets. Burbank has long powered the Media Capital of the World, including studios and companies such as Warner Bros., The Walt Disney Company and Nickelodeon. The city has approximately 104,000 residents, while an additional 146,000 people arrive each day to work at and visit its businesses, studios and other destinations.

Now one Burbank studio campus will take on a central role in one of the world’s largest media events. Warner Bros. Ranch on Hollywood Way has been selected as the International Broadcast Center for the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The 30-acre campus, with 16 soundstages, will become the operational headquarters where international media rights holders receive and distribute coverage to audiences around the world. Preparations at the site are expected to begin as early as January 2027.

That means Burbank’s grid will be doing more than keeping lights, air conditioners, restaurants and production offices running. It will support the broadcast nerve center responsible for helping bring the Games to billions of viewers. The same infrastructure serving homes and neighborhood businesses must also be ready for the intense, around-the-clock demands of a world-class media operation.

BWP reports a 99.997 percent electric reliability rate and is a nationally designated Reliable Public Power Provider at the Diamond level by the American Public Power Association, placing it among the country’s leading public utilities for reliability, safety, workforce development and system improvement. The Grid Forward Project is intended to protect that record as demands on the system grow.

The utility is also investing in generation and the workforce that will maintain the grid. BWP’s Magnolia Power Project, a 323-megawatt combined-cycle natural gas facility serving Burbank and five other Southern California public utilities, received a separate $49 million in state funding for critical upgrades that will add 50 megawatts of peak capacity. BWP’s apprenticeship and journeyman programs are also training the lineworkers who will operate and modernize the system for decades to come.

“The Office of Electricity is proud to support BWP as it builds a more affordable, reliable, and secure electric system for this community,” Jereza said. “Together, these investments help ensure that families and businesses here in Burbank have the power they need – not just today, but well into the future.”

Joining Jereza, Kovalick and Samra at the demonstration and press conference were Burbank City Manager Justin Hess and BWP Chief Assistant General Manager Riad Sleiman. The gathering showed how a project that can look ordinary from the street connects to some of Burbank’s biggest priorities in public safety, affordability, and economic strength.