Smart Grid Investment Grant Program
The purpose of the Smart Grid Investment Grant Program is to accelerate the transformation of our electric transmission and distribution systems by promoting investments in smarter grid technologies, tools, and techniques for immediate commercial use. The goals of the program involve accelerating progress toward a grid that:
- Enables informed participation by consumers in retail and wholesale electricity markets
- Accommodates all types of central and distributed electric generation and storage options
- Enables new products, services, and markets
- Provides for power quality for a range of needs by all types of consumers
- Optimizes asset utilization and operating efficiency of the electric power system
- Anticipates and responds to system disturbances
- Operates resiliently to attacks and natural disasters.
The Smart Grid Investment Grant Program was originally authorized by Section 1306 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (PDF 821 KB). Download Adobe Reader. It was later modified by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The Research and Development Division within the Department of Energy’s Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability manages this program. Approved projects receive federal financial assistance for up to 50% of eligible project costs. This financial assistance is intended to enable measurable improvements from a modernized electric transmission and distribution system.
Learn more about Smart Grid Investment Grant Program projects by exploring these project categories: