Grid Resilience Grant Program

Grid Resilience Grant Program History:

The passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) established the Grid Resilience State/Tribal Formula Grant Program. Managed by the US Department of Energy, this program offers formula grants to states to subgrant out to eligible entities to prevent outages and enhance the resilience of the electric grid. Formula grant funding is allocated annually over a five-year period to states.

Funding under this program can be used for a wide range of resilience measures intended to mitigate the impact of disruptive events, such as vegetation and fuel-load management, the relocation of power lines or the reconductoring of power lines with low-sag, advanced conductors, and the undergrounding of electrical equipment.

Grid Resilience Grant Program Information:

The NHDOE applied for its first two years of formula grant funding of over $6.6 million in April 2023. The US Department of Energy approved NHDOE’s application in September 2023. To develop its application, NHDOE solicited feedback from the public and other interested stakeholders at two public meetings on September 15, 2022 and March 17, 2023.

NHDOE intends to subgrant out its funding under a program called the Grid Resilience Grant Program. This program will utilize a competitive RFP process that is open to NH’s electric utilities and municipally owned electric utilities for projects that prevent electrical outages and lessen the duration of electrical outages. Funded projects must also conform to federal rules and regulations under the Grid Resilience State/Tribal Formula Grant Program. The Grid Resilience Grant Program will prioritize projects that benefit disadvantaged communities, reduce the frequency and/or duration of disruptive events, advance efforts that are not currently under consideration in a utility’s resilience planning, and leverage existing workforce development/training opportunities.

Currently, the Grid Resilience Grant Program is not open to applications. The NHDOE is working through state processes to accept and expend these funds and hire new staff to oversee this program. The NHDOE will notify interested stakeholders on any future program developments.