Colorado Advanced Power Grid Monitoring Grant Program

The Colorado Advanced Power Grid Monitoring Grant Program is administered by the Colorado Energy Office (CEO) to support electric utilities in Colorado with critical electric grid monitoring and resilience projects. Funding for the program comes from a portion of Colorado's appropriation under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Legislation (BIL) of 2021, Section 40101(d) Grid Resiliency funding. The program is intended to facilitate monitoring and modeling of threats and impacts affecting different portions of the electric grid, including wildfires and extreme weather. CEO prioritizes proposed projects based on demonstrated need, project impact, project readiness, and labor impact. Eligible activities include power grid monitoring systems, tools, and related technologies for fire monitoring and prevention; advanced vegetation and fuel-load management using LiDAR, satellites, drones, artificial intelligence, or other information technology; distribution pole sensors; smart meters, including advanced metering infrastructure; and grid modeling. The maximum grant amount identified in the funding overview is $500,000 per applicant. The source does not identify a minimum award, total amount available through the program, or a specified number of awards. All Colorado electric utilities are eligible to apply. Matching requirements vary according to utility size as measured by electricity sold in 2022. Smaller utilities, defined as utilities with less than 4 million MWh sold in 2022, are subject to a one-third match requirement. Larger utilities, defined as utilities with more than 4 million MWh sold in 2022, are subject to a 100 percent cost match, described alternatively as a 50 percent cost share of total project costs. The provided information does not specify the treatment of utilities at exactly 4 million MWh sold in 2022. For the 2025 funding round, the application period opened September 3, 2025 and closed November 3, 2025. Applicants were directed to download and review the Request for Applications and prepare and submit all required documentation. The source also provides supplemental application documents. The Colorado Energy Office Grid Resiliency Program Manager hosted an informational webinar on September 11, 2025 concerning the third round of grid resilience funding. The source describes applications as typically occurring annually in the fall, but it does not provide confirmed opening or closing dates for the next funding round. Applications are reviewed and scored by Colorado Energy Office, Colorado Department of Local Affairs Colorado Resiliency Office, and Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies staff in accordance with scoring criteria. CEO makes final project award decisions and informs applicants of their award or non-award status. The stated program priorities of demonstrated need, project impact, project readiness, and labor impact provide important guidance for applicants preparing competitive proposals. Following CEO's award decision, the U.S. Department of Energy reviews the application for federal compliance. The federal compliance review may take six months or longer, and project work may not begin until after both the award and Department of Energy approval. Awarded applicants must execute a formal grant agreement with CEO before receiving funds. Payments are issued as reimbursements, and work performed before formal execution of the grant agreement is not eligible for reimbursement. The source does not state a specific project performance period or award notification date. The program contact is the Colorado Energy Office Grid Resiliency Program at gridresiliency@state.co.us. The supplied source includes a link to the 2025 Request for Applications hosted through Google Drive, supplemental application documents, webinar materials, and additional grid resilience resources. The program is described as typically annual with applications occurring in the fall. As of August 28, 2026, the stated November 3, 2025 deadline has passed and no confirmed 2026 application dates are provided, so the next round is anticipated rather than confirmed open.

Address demonstrated need, project impact, project readiness, and labor impact because CEO identifies these as funding priorities. Plan for U.S. Department of Energy federal compliance review, which may take 6 months or longer. Do not begin work before award, DOE approval, and execution of the formal CEO grant agreement.