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Grid Hardening for Small and Rural Communities Grant Program

Grid Hardening for Small and Rural Communities Grant Program

Funding to support power grid hardening by small electric utilities.

 

Funding Overview:

Eligibility: Rural electric cooperatives and municipal utilities selling less than 4 million MWh annually; priority for utilities serving communities with small populations
Amount: Maximum grants of $1,000,000 per applicant, $4,095,997 total was available for the 2024 funding cycle. A similar amount was available for the 2023 funding cycle.
Match: One-third minimum, cash or in-kind
Application: Second round closed November 1, 2024
Future rounds: To be determined.

The Colorado Grid Hardening for Small and Rural Communities Grant Program will support rural electric cooperatives and municipal utilities in funding critical power grid hardening projects. The Colorado Energy Office (CEO) and the Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) will prioritize funding for projects based on demonstrated need, potential to reduce outages in communities with higher climate risk and social vulnerability, project readiness, and proposed cost match. The projects funded through this opportunity will support community-level resilience by hardening the electrical grid to protect it from a variety of impacts including wildfires and extreme weather. This funding comes from part of Colorado’s appropriation of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Legislation (BIL) (2021) 40101(d) Grid Resiliency funding.

Sign up for updates on the Grid Resilience Grant Program

For more information, please contact gridresiliency@state.co.us.

Eligible Applicants

Colorado cooperative electric associations (“coops”) and municipally-owned utilities that sell less than 4 million MWh per year are eligible to apply. The majority of projects must serve a small or rural community, defined as a county with a population of less than 50,000 or a municipality with a population of less than 25,000.

Eligible Projects

Projects eligible to receive funding include (but are not limited to):

  • Implementing weatherization technologies and equipment to utility assets
  • Implementing fire-resistant technologies and fire prevention systems
  • Undergrounding electrical equipment
  • Improving utility pole management
  • Relocating power lines or reconductoring power lines with low-sag, advanced conductors
  • Implementing vegetation and fuel-load management
  • Replacing old overhead conductors and underground cables

View the Application (RFA Document) linked below for all information related to this opportunity, including project specifications, required documentation, and scoring criteria.

How It Works

The application period for the 2024 funding round is now closed. Additional information about eligibility, award amounts, and more is available in the Request for Applications document below.
View Request for Applications (RFA) document 
View supplemental Application documents

CEO and DOLA presented an informational webinar about the third year of grid resilience funding on August 28, 2024.
Watch the Webinar Recording

Presentation slides are available in the description of the Youtube video linked above. 

Step 1.

Download and Review the Application (RFA Document)

Step 2.

Prepare and submit application and all required supplemental documents via email to gridresiliency@state.co.us by November 1, 2024 at 4:30 PM MT

Step 3.

A selection Committee from the Colorado Energy Office and DOLA Colorado Resiliency Office will review and score applications in accordance with scoring criteria

Step 4.

CEO will make initial project selection decisions (pending U.S. Department of Energy approval) and inform all applicants of their contingent award or non-award status.

Step 5.

The U.S. Department of Energy will review the application for federal compliance. This may take 6 months or longer. 
No work may begin until after award and DOE approval.

Step 6.

Awarded applicants must enter a formal grant agreement with CEO to receive funds.