The Grid Modernization Division oversees activities that prevent outages and enhance the resilience of the electric grid. This Division works to reduce the likelihood and consequence of impacts to the electric grid due extreme weather, wildfire, and natural disaster. The Division will support electric grid operators, electricity generators, transmission owners and operators, distribution providers, fuel suppliers, and other relevant entities for hardening effort. The Grid Modernization Division:
- Administers the $10.5 billion Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) Program to enhance grid flexibility and improve the resilience of the power system against growing threats of extreme weather and climate change. The program includes:
- Grid Resilience Grants ($2.5 billion) funds comprehensive transformational transmission and distribution technology solutions that will mitigate multiple hazards across a region or within a community, including wildfires, floods, hurricanes, extreme heat, extreme cold, storms, and any other event that can cause a disruption to the power system.
- Smart Grid Grants ($3 billion) increases the flexibility, efficiency, and reliability of the electric power system, with particular focus on increasing capacity of the transmission system, preventing faults that may lead to wildfires or other system disturbances, integrating renewable energy at the transmission and distribution levels, and facilitating the integration of increasing electrified vehicles, buildings, and other grid-edge devices.
- Grid Innovation Program ($5 billion) provides financial assistance to one or multiple states, Tribes, local governments, and public utility commissions to collaborate with electric sector owners and operators to deploy projects that use innovative approaches to transmission, storage, and distribution infrastructure to enhance grid resilience and reliability.
- Grid Resilience Grants ($2.5 billion) funds comprehensive transformational transmission and distribution technology solutions that will mitigate multiple hazards across a region or within a community, including wildfires, floods, hurricanes, extreme heat, extreme cold, storms, and any other event that can cause a disruption to the power system.
- Manages the Grid Resilience State and Tribal Formula Grants, a $2.3 billion formula grant program to strengthen and modernize America’s power grid against wildfires, extreme weather, and other natural disasters exacerbated by the climate crisis.
- Works to increase the functional preservation of electric grid operations or natural gas and oil operations in the face of threats and hazards through modeling, analysis, and assessments.
- Manages the Territory and Recovery Assistance work. This includes work supported by FEMA to help Puerto Rico reach its renewable energy target of 100% by 2050, while reducing the use of fossil fuels, minimizing greenhouse gas emissions, and maintaining initiatives that focus on mitigation, adaptation, and resilience.