What is the Pennsylvania Grid Resilience Grant Program (GRG)?
Funded by a state formula grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (USDOE) through the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), Section 40101D, titled Preventing Outages and Enhancing the Resilience of the Electric Grid, the GRG program is a funding opportunity to implement resilience measures throughout PA intended to mitigate the impact of electric grid disruptive events.
Round 2 –
Approximately $8 million is available for new awards under Round 2 of this competitive grant program. The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is seeking applications for innovative, advanced, and transformative projects throughout PA that will result in a more resilient and reliable electric grid while promoting the expansion of clean energy generation, workforce benefits, and positive outcomes in rural and urban communities. Projects funded will have an initial Period of Performance of five years. Awards may be extended to span the amount of time necessary for recipients to complete all project efforts, up to ten years.
At least five percent of the program funding is being set aside for eligible entities that sell not more than 4,000,000 MWh of electricity per year. This funding portion is referred to as “Small Utility Set Aside.”
Grant documents
An eligible entity that receives a grant award under the Program is required to match a minimum of 100 percent of the award amount if they are not considered a “Small Utility”, selling not more than 4,000,000 megawatt hours of electricity per year.
If the eligible entity sells not more than 4,000,000 megawatt hours of electricity per year, the required minimum match will be one third of the award amount.
Matching funds means any new public or private investment in the proposed project made by an eligible applicant. Eligible applicants must provide letters documenting the financial commitment. Eligible letters and matching fund use are discussed in the application requirements section of the PA GRG Round 2 Guidance Document.
- an electric grid operator;
- an electricity storage operator;
- an electricity generator;
- a transmission owner or operator;
- a distribution provider;
- a fuel supplier;
- and any other relevant entity, as determined by DEP in consultation with DOE.
- weatherization technologies and equipment;
- fire resistant technologies and fire prevention systems;
- monitoring and control technologies;
- the undergrounding of electrical equipment;
- utility pole management;
- the relocation of power lines or the reconductoring of power lines with low sag;
- advanced conductors;
- vegetation and fuel load management;
- the use or construction of infrastructure for enhancing system adaptive capacity during disruptive events, including microgrids and battery storage subcomponents;
- Note: These projects are only eligible if used exclusively during disruptive events.
- adaptive protection technologies;
- advanced modeling technologies;
- hardening of power lines, facilities, substations, or other systems; and
- the replacement of old overhead conductors and underground cables.
- Construction of a new –
- electric generating facility; or
- large scale battery storage facility that is not used for enhancing system adaptive capacity during disruptive events; or
- Cybersecurity.
Additionally, the following type of expenditures are ineligible:
- Costs associated with preparation of the PA GRG application; land acquisition; permits; landscaping; advertising; business start up costs; indirect costs (i.e., general administrative and overhead, contingency funds, etc.); travel, lodging, subsistence; conference or meeting expenses including catering, conference equipment and room rental.
- All Concept Papers, Full Application and Supporting Documentation must be submitted online through the Commonwealth's Enterprise eGrants system (eGrants). Emails, hard copy mailings, or faxes will not be accepted.
- Applicants must submit a Concept Paper to be eligible to submit a Full Application.
- The Concept Paper, Full Application, and required attachments must be complete, and the application must include all applicable items as outlined in the appropriate application instructions.
- Please see Guidance Document, Concept Paper Instructions, and Full Application Instructions for more detailed information.
- PA GRG Enterprise eGrants System Step-by-Step Guide: Instructions for the Online Application (PDF) - This is a guide for setting up an account and submitting your documents.
Concept Papers will be received any time after the grant opening date of June 2, 2025, until the deadline of August 8, 2025, at 11.59 PM*. All Concept Papers must be submitted online through the Commonwealth's Enterprise eGrants system. Emails, hard copy mailings, or faxes will not be accepted.
Full Applications will be received any time after the second grant opening date of September 1, 2025, until the deadline of November 1, 2025, at 11:59 PM*. All Full Applications must be submitted online through the Commonwealth's Enterprise eGrants system.
The following criteria is what will be evaluated:
- Targeting Investments to Worst Performing Circuits
- Improving Grid Reliability and Resilience
- Increasing Economic Resilience
- Ensuring Workforce Benefits
- Improving Environmental Benefits and Decreasing Greenhouse Gases (GHGs)
- Improving Outcomes in Rural and Urban Communities
- Project Readiness
For more information or to see the metrics that will be reviewed please see the Guidance Document.
Any BABA waivers would be submitted along with your application.
For more information on the BABA waivers please see the link below:
DOE Buy America Requirement Waiver Requests | Department of Energy