The single largest energy transmission investment in United States history, Grain Belt Express, (GBE) is being targeted by the Republican Attorney General of Missouri Andrew Bailey, a move that could potentially put hundreds of thousands of hours of union work at risk and leave the country’s energy grid less secure.
Andrew Bailey wrote a letter on March 6th, 2025 to Elon Musk and his so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) asking him to “investigate and cancel federal funding for the nearly $5 billion in waste from the GBE.”
For local unions like International Brotherhood of Electricians (IBEW) Local 53 and IUE-CWA Local 86821, this interference and political grandstanding risks serious work for their members. Members of Local 53 are set to secure years of local work with this project.
Andrew Bailey’s anger largely seems to focus on a nearly $5 billion federal loan guarantee approved by the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office (LPO) under President Biden. Bailey also calls Grain Belt Express a land grab.
The Biden administration’s announcement said that Grain Belt Express “values collaboration with local communities and labor unions and is committed to establishing agreements to support its workforce strategy.” A condition of the loan would require Grain Belt Express to develop and ultimately implement a comprehensive Community Benefits Plan. (CBP)
Invenergy Transmission is proposing to construct Grain Belt Express in two phases. Phase 1, a 578-mile, 2,500-megawatt section, extends between Ford County, Kansas, to Callaway County, Missouri. Construction on Phase 1 is anticipated to begin in 2026.
For local unions like International Brotherhood of Electricians (IBEW) Local 53 and IUE-CWA Local 86821, this interference and political grandstanding risks serious work for their members. Members of Local 53 are set to secure years of local work with this project.
“The Grain Belt Express is a crucial for the infrastructure in the state of Missouri. Connecting Southwest Power Pool, Associated Electric to the Midcontinent Independent System Operation and PJM will increase system reliability. In 2021 the Southwest Power Pool was strained to the point of utilities having to perform rolling blackouts due to gas wells freezing up in Texas. The connection that the Grain Belt will provide would have alleviated that situation. It is projected that the Southwest Power pool will need up to another 48GW of wind generation to help support load growth through the year 2050,” said Johnny Whitaker, Business Rep. for IBEW Local 53.
Grain Belt Express Phase 1 will also have bidirectional capabilities, allowing power to be transmitted in either direction, which will also improve the grid’s resilience and flexibility. Grain Belt Express Phase 1 will connect three regional grids: the Southwest Power Pool (SPP), the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), and Associated Electric Cooperative Incorporated (AECI). The National Transmission Needs Study, published by the DOE’s Grid Deployment Office, estimates interregional transmission capacity between SPP and MISO regions may need to increase by up to 1000% to meet demand by 2035.
“To say this is nothing more than a land grab couldn’t be further from the truth, this project is a much needed step in the right direction for the citizens of Missouri. Grid reliability needs to be at the forefront of our state leaderships minds. This project will also bring an influx of revenue to rural communities across the state of Missouri during construction. Small town gas stations, grocery stores and small businesses will prosper during the two construction phases of this project,” added Whitaker.
“It’s an absolute disgrace for our Attorney General to use lies and deceit in order to compel the Department of Government Efficiency to kill an infrastructure project that has been in development for over a decade. The Grain Belt would bring much needed energy to the citizens and industries of Missouri and aid in lowering the cost of electricity for all of us,” said IBEW Local 53 Business Manager/Financial Secretary Ben Bush regarding the letter Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey wrote to DOGE.
Phase 2 extends between the line’s mid-point Missouri converter station and Indiana interconnection point. Phase 2 does not yet have a schedule announced, but the company says it is fully committed to both phases of the project.
Grain Belt Express is positioned to tie Missouri and Kansas more deeply into the national energy grid, providing significant stability for residents moving forward and addressing a need for increased power generation in the region.
Invenergy Transmission, the American-based company behind Grain Belt Express, builds, owns, and operates facilities including natural gas, solar, wind, and hydrogen power generation, transmission, energy storage, and U.S. solar manufacturing.
BIG BOOST FOR IUE-CWA LOCAL 86821 & CENTRALIA, MO
In Centralia, MO, the largest employer is Hubbell, where they manufacture and distribute products for the utility industry. The nearly four hundred unionized workers at Hubbell are members of IUE-CWA Local 86821.
“Grain Belt Express is a trifecta win for our region, because it will create jobs, support Missouri-based manufacturing and attract millions in economic investment,” said Neil Vandermeulen, Hubbell, Division President. “This investment will enhance our manufacturing capacity across the country, strengthening the domestic supply chain needed to support our nation’s critical grid infrastructure. The success of our partnership with Invenergy demonstrates a shared commitment to retaining and creating U.S. manufacturing jobs.”
“Grain Belt Express is the highest capacity transmission line in the U.S. and the longest line the U.S. has built in over 50 years, making this domestic supply agreement among the largest of its kind in the industry. The products made by Hubbell and distributed out of Centralia will ensure a more reliable, resilient energy grid at a time of unprecedented demand,” said Shashank Sane, Invenergy Executive Vice President for Transmission.
Tristin Amezcua-Hogan is the Editor of The Labor Beacon and a member of LIUNA Local 264. Tristin also serves as the Director of Communications for the Greater Kansas City AFL-CIO and the Chair of the Kansas City Regional Transit Alliance.
Tristin grew up as the son of a UA Local 669 member in Tecumseh, KS and the great-nephew of George C. Amis, longtime leader of the United Rubberworkers (now USW Local 307) in Kansas. Growing up in rural Kansas as the child of teen parents, Tristin quickly came to appreciate the life-changing benefit of a union job.
Tristin and his partner, Rebeca Amezcua-Hogan, are residents of the Westside, Kansas City, MO's historic Mexican neighborhood. They are proud members of Kansas City's New Reform Temple.
