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The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), also known as the federal stimulus bill, was signed into law on Feb. 17, 2009. The law has allotted $4.5 Billion to the United States Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability. As outlined in the legislation, these funds are an investment in a nationwide plan to modernize the electric grid, enhance security of U.S. energy infrastructure and ensure reliable electricity delivery to meet growing demand. A significant share of the funds will be used to support these programs through a competitive grant process.
The DOE will be responsible for implementing the Smart Grid funding opportunities through the ARRA. Ultimately, all projects must be submitted directly to the DOE. Additionally, all final funding determinations will be made solely by the DOE. The PUCO stands ready to offer technical assistance to all Smart Grid projects submitted through the Ohio recovery website.
Once the DOE issues its smart grid guidance, the PUCO will also post the information on this Web page so please check back frequently. It is the PUCO’s goal to help bring these projects to Ohio.
The DOE strongly recommends that those interested in receiving Smart Grid funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) visit Grants.gov. Due to the likelihood of a short response period between the issuance of the Smart Grid guidelines and the deadline for an application submittal, interested applicants are encouraged to begin the registration process at Grants.gov registration. The "Organization Registration User Guide" and "Organization Registration Checklist" provided on the site are very helpful tools that will guide you through the one-time actions that prospective applicants must complete in order to submit an electronic funding request at Grants.gov or Fedconnect.net. Both sites require identical information, which is included in the checklist. It should be noted that once a registration application is submitted it may take up to 21 days for the request to be processed.
If you have additional questions after you search Grants.gov, the phone number for the Grants.gov contact center is (800) 518-4726. Their hours of operation are Monday-Friday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
