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DOE released about $967 million more in Grid Resilience formula grants on Oct. 20. States, tribes and territories have until Feb. 17, 2027 to apply, and battery storage and backup generation qualify.
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Illustrative image from DOE's Grid Resilience State and Tribal Formula Grant page; DOE has not released a photo of a specific funded project.
Image: US Department of Energy
Source · Press image from the US Department of Energy website, used for news reporting.
The US Department of Energy announced on Oct. 20 about $967 million in additional funding through its Grid Resilience State and Tribal Formula Grant program, money that states, territories and tribes can spend on grid hardening and reliability work.
The department said the funds will support locally driven projects that upgrade critical infrastructure, prevent power disruptions and meet growing electricity demand. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the money goes directly to states, territories and tribes to lower electricity costs and strengthen reliability. The trade group American Public Power Association and Energy Monitor both reported the announcement.
Applicants have 120 days from Oct. 20, 2026 to the Feb. 17, 2027 deadline, according to DOE's program page.
Illustration (AI-generated)
The same day, DOE issued Amendment 010 to the program's funding document, which opens the application period for fiscal years 2025 and 2026. According to DOE's program page, existing recipients and new applicants have 120 days, with a deadline of Feb. 17, 2027 at 11:59pm EST. The allocation for each state, tribe and territory is published on a DOE page that Voltgrid has not reviewed, so no per-state figures are given here.
Allocations follow a formula that DOE says weighs population, land area, the probability and severity of disruptive events, and a locality's past spending on mitigation. DOE says those inputs are refreshed every year under Section 40101(d) of the 2021 infrastructure law. It lists the December 2025 update to FEMA's National Risk Index and the addition of unclaimed money from earlier years among the reasons an allocation can differ from fiscal 2024.
DOE does not pick projects. Each state, territory or tribe adopts its own plan after public notice and a hearing, and DOE says priority goes to projects that reduce the likelihood and consequences of disruptive events. Existing recipients need a new program narrative and hearing only if their plans changed or the original narrative did not cover work beyond the fiscal 2022 to 2024 funds.
For the equipment and data-center supply chain, the eligibility rules matter more than the headline number. DOE's program page says new combustion-based emergency backup generation, meaning diesel, propane or natural-gas units, is now an allowable activity. It also says battery energy storage systems, including mobile ones, can be funded to keep power on during disruptive events. Storage and backup generation are therefore eligible uses, though DOE has not said how much will go to either category.
The announcement names no projects, contractors or completion dates, and the amount is formula funding rather than a single award. Energy Monitor also noted that earlier this month DOE selected the Three Corners Connector project to enter negotiations for funding under a separate reconductoring programme, a different track from this one.
The next dated step is the Feb. 17, 2027 application deadline. After DOE reviews applications, states and tribes will have to publish their own plans, and those documents will show how much of the $967 million goes to lines, substations, storage or backup generation.