Grid Hardening for Small and Rural Communities Grant Program

The Grid Hardening for Small and Rural Communities Grant Program is administered through the Colorado Energy Office and the Colorado Department of Local Affairs, with funding derived from Colorado's appropriation of Bipartisan Infrastructure Legislation Section 40101(d) Grid Resiliency funding. The program is intended to help small and rural electric utilities strengthen critical electrical infrastructure and improve community-level resilience. It focuses on protecting the electrical grid from threats and disruptions such as wildfires, extreme weather, and other conditions that can cause power outages. The Colorado Energy Office and Department of Local Affairs administer the selection process, while final projects are subject to U.S. Department of Energy review and approval for federal compliance. Funding supports critical power grid hardening projects undertaken by eligible rural electric cooperatives and municipally-owned utilities. Eligible activities include, but are not limited to, implementing weatherization technologies and equipment for utility assets, implementing fire-resistant technologies and fire prevention systems, undergrounding electrical equipment, improving utility pole management, relocating power lines, reconductoring power lines using low-sag advanced conductors, implementing vegetation and fuel-load management, and replacing old overhead conductors and underground cables. These activities are intended to strengthen the electrical system and reduce the potential for outages and other impacts associated with wildfire, extreme weather, climate risks, and related hazards. The maximum grant identified in the program overview is $1,000,000 per applicant. Applicants must provide a minimum one-third match, which may be provided through cash or in-kind contributions. Eligible applicants are Colorado cooperative electric associations and municipally-owned utilities that sell less than 4 million MWh per year. The program is specifically oriented toward small and rural communities. The majority of projects must serve a small or rural community, which the program defines as a county with a population of less than 50,000 or a municipality with a population of less than 25,000. Accordingly, applicants must satisfy both the applicable utility eligibility requirements and the program's community-serving requirements. The source does not provide a fixed list of qualifying counties or municipalities, so eligibility must be determined using the stated population thresholds and project service area. The application period for the 2025 funding round opened September 3, 2025 and closed November 3, 2025. Applicants are directed to review the Request for Applications for complete project specifications, required documentation, and scoring criteria and to submit the required application materials. The program page provides the 2025 Request for Applications and supplemental application documents. The source also contains instructions from an earlier funding round directing applicants to prepare and submit the application and all required supplemental documents by email to gridresiliency@state.co.us. Because those instructions identify a November 1, 2024 deadline, while the program page separately establishes November 3, 2025 as the closing date for the 2025 funding round, the 2025 dates govern the identified 2025 cycle. Applications are reviewed and scored by a selection committee from the Colorado Energy Office and the Department of Local Affairs Colorado Resiliency Office in accordance with the program's scoring criteria. Funding priorities include demonstrated need, the potential of the proposed project to reduce outages in communities experiencing higher climate risk and social vulnerability, project readiness, and the applicant's proposed cost match. The Colorado Energy Office makes initial project selection decisions and informs applicants of their contingent award or non-award status. Initial project selections remain subject to U.S. Department of Energy approval. Following initial selection, the U.S. Department of Energy reviews the application for federal compliance. The source states that this federal review may take six months or longer. No project work may begin until the award and Department of Energy approval have been completed. Successful applicants must also enter into a formal grant agreement with the Colorado Energy Office before receiving funds. The program does not provide a specific final award date or performance period in the supplied material. For program questions and additional information, applicants may contact the program at gridresiliency@state.co.us. The funding overview describes applications as typically occurring annually in the fall. The most recent expressly dated round in the supplied material ran from September 3 through November 3, 2025. Based on the stated annual fall pattern, the program is treated as recurring, although an exact opening or closing date for the next round is not provided in the source. Applicants should therefore monitor the program for the next Request for Applications and updated supplemental materials. The program page also provides access to an informational webinar, related presentations, a Grid Resilience Grants One-Pager, and information about previously awarded Grid Hardening Projects.

Demonstrate project need; show potential to reduce outages in communities with higher climate risk and social vulnerability; demonstrate project readiness; provide a competitive proposed cost match.