Grid Resiliency Formula Grant Program - Section 40101(d)
AEA submitted its application to the United States Department of Energy (DOE) – Grid Deployment Office on April 18, 2023. On May 23, 2023, DOE issued its first award announcement for those early applicants to the IIJA Section 40101(d) formula grant program. Please consult the DOE notice for more information on this award announcement. No other award announcements have been made by DOE. It is AEA’s understanding that DOE will continue to issue awards on a rolling basis, as applications are received.

DOE, with the release of its Administrative and Legal Requirements Document (amendment 6), has extended the application deadline for tribal entities (including Alaska Native Corporations) to August 31, 2023. AEA is not administering those tribal entity applications for DOE formula allocations made directly to tribal entities.

About the Grid Resilience Program

The Grid Resilience Formula Grant Program, funded through Section 40101(d) Formula Grants to States & Indian Tribes of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), will be administered through the Alaska Energy Authority (AEA), as designated by Governor Mike Dunleavy. The national program provides $2.5 billion in formula grants to States and Indian Tribes to improve the resiliency of the electric grid infrastructure against disruptive events. AEA’s administration of the Program solely pertains to those Federal allocations to the State of Alaska over the Program’s five-year funding period; Alaska’s Tribal entities have been allocated their funding directly under the program. Alaska has been allocated $12.1M in formula grant funds, for the first year of funding, and $10.1M per the second-year allocation for a total of $22.2M for the first two funding years. AEA submitted its application on April 18, 2023 covering those allocations for the first two funding years. It is estimated that Alaska will receive approximately $60 million over the five-year Program period. It is AEA’s plan to issue grant funds via a competitive, sub-award process.  As per the requirements of this funding opportunity, the State of Alaska has provided the mandatory 15% match for prime recipients, however, an additional one-third (1/3) match will be required for those selected sub-applicants, based on the total grant funds requested.

Eligible entities that may apply for sub-awards under this Program include electric grid operators, electricity storage operators, electricity generators, and transmission owners or operators holding a Certificate of Public Necessity and Convenience, as issued by the Regulatory Commission of Alaska.

Eligible activities to improve the resiliency of the electric grid infrastructure against disruptive events may include, but are not limited to: relocating or reconductoring powerlines; improvements to make the grid resistant to extreme weather; increasing fire-resistant components; implementing monitoring, controls, and advanced modeling for real-time situational awareness; and integrating distributed energy resources like microgrids and energy storage. DOE guidance explicitly prohibits the construction of (1a) a new electric generating facility or (1b) a large-scale battery-storage facility that is not used for enhancing system adaptive capacity during disruptive events, or (2) cybersecurity. The period of performance for these sub-award grants is set at five (5) years with a potential single extension, at DOE’s discretion, of an additional 5 years, or less depending on the amount of time necessary to complete all efforts at the stated sub-award.

Public Participation — Grid Resilience Program

AEA solicited requests for public participation throughout the application process.  Over the course of developing the application, AEA hosted four public meetings to solicit any comments and/or questions relating to AEA’s application to U.S. DOE’s Section 40101(d) Formula Grants to States, as Federally funded via the IIJA. Recordings of these meetings are available by accessing the links provided below:

Public Meeting #1: September 7, 2022

Public Meeting #2: September 13, 2022

Public Meeting #3: December 13, 2022, 1-2 p.m.

Public Meeting #4: January 12, 2023, 10:30-11:30 a.m

Materials

End of Public Comment Period

Thursday, January 26, 2023

For additional information or to provide comments, please email: