In recent months and years, the Federal government, primarily through the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), has been providing grants, loans, other financial incentives, and even technology information to electric utilities to help them strengthen their grids’ reliability and resilience.

More recently, individual states have been getting involved in similar initiatives for electric utilities in their states.

In late November, for example, the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) announced the launch of a major new program to make improvements to the electricity grid that improve reliability and energy resilience.

“The electricity grid faces a growing number of threats,” said the MEA. “Outages are increasing due to its age, along with the increasing frequency of severe weather events. The grid also can suffer physical damage caused by bad actors and cyberattacks, which have made investments in improving the grid’s durability, reliability and power quality essential.”

In response, the state created the “Maryland Resilient Infrastructure for Sustaintable Energy Program” (“Maryland RISE”), which is currently open for applications. This program provides funds to Maryland’s utilities, bulk power system operators and related power-industry stakeholders. Funds are provided through the “Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.” The program has a total budget of $15 million, subject to funding availability.

“In the face of rising demand for electricity and the more frequent and severe storms triggered by climate change, we absolutely must have a reliable electric grid,” said Maryland Energy Administration Director Paul G. Pinsky. “Our grid is battered and getting worse, meaning that the new Maryland RISE program is essential to reducing power outages and keeping the state moving toward its clean energy and greenhouse gas reduction goals, The agency looks forward to working with its federal and local community partners to make our grid more robust and resilient.”

The Maryland RISE Program is competitive. Program applications are due to the Maryland Energy Administration by January 21, 2025. Funds are offered under two areas of interest, based on the amount of an applicant’s retail electricity sales. In addition to state requirements, grantees will need to meet federal requirements as a condition of funding. Eligible activities generally include grid infrastructure improvements such as fire suppression systems, reconductoring power lines, undergrounding and many others.