Public Hearing for Grid Resilience Formula Grant Program

TDEC OEP will hold a public hearing regarding the utilization of the State of Tennessee's Year 1 allocation of $7,614,436 under the U.S. Department of Energy's Grid Resilience Formula Grant Program (i.e., Formula Grants to States and Indian Tribes for Preventing Outages and Enhancing the Resilience of the Electric Grid) that is funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). Additional information on the Program can be found by clicking on or copying the following URL to a web browser: https://netl.doe.gov/bilhub/grid-resilience/formula-grants. In addition to providing an overview of this Program and various related compliance requirements, TDEC OEP will review the criteria and methods the State of Tennessee anticipates using to grant awards to eligible entities and potential approaches for distributing funding (e.g., formula grants and competitive grants).

Meeting Details

Date

September 15, 2022

Time

6:00–6:30 PM CDT, Informal Questions and Answers
6:30–8:00 PM CDT, Formal Public Hearing

Meeting Location

Ways to Participate

1. In person (see above for the meeting location)
2. Log in online (see virtual login info below)
3. Call in by phone (see call-in info below)

Virtual Login Info

• To access the meeting (doors open at 6:00 PM CST) or join anytime during the Q&A session or the formal public hearing, click on the link or copy the URL to your web browser.
  https://tn.webex.com/tn/j.php?MTID=m2bf2d47d01d27ac148b51b6b644104c3
• Meeting ID: 2308 098 0439
• Passcode: OEP091522

Call-in Information

• Call: +1-415-655-0001
• Phone Access Code: 230 809 80439

U.S. Department of Energy's Grid Resilience Formula Grant Program

The U.S. Department of Energy will provide grants to States (including U.S. Territories) and Indian Tribes under the Grid Resilience Formula Grant Program to improve the resilience of electric grids. States and Indian Tribes may further allocate funds to "eligible entities," to include: an electric grid operator; an electricity storage operator; an electricity generator; a transmission owner or operator; a distribution provider; a fuel supplier; and any other relevant entity, as determined by the Secretary.

The objective of this Program is to improve the resilience of the electric grid against disruptive events. IIJA section 40101(a)(1) defines a disruptive event as "an event in which operations of the electric grid are disrupted, preventively shut off, or cannot operate safely due to extreme weather, wildfire, or a natural disaster."

To achieve this objective, funding provided under this Program may be used to implement a wide range of resilience measures intended to mitigate the impact of disruptive events, including: a) weatherization technologies and equipment; b) fire-resistant technologies and fire prevention systems; c) monitoring and control technologies; d) the undergrounding of electrical equipment; e) utility pole management; f) the relocation of power lines or the reconductoring of power lines with low-sag, advanced conductors; g) vegetation and fuel-load management; h) the use or construction of distributed energy resources for enhancing system adaptive capacity during disruptive events, including microgrids and battery-storage subcomponents; i) adaptive protection technologies; j) advanced modeling technologies; k) hardening of power lines, facilities, substations, of other systems; and l) the replacement of old overhead conductors and underground cables.

Funding may also be used for the training, recruitment, retention, and reskilling of skilled and properly credentialled workers in order to perform the work required for the particular resilience measures to be funded under the Program. Additionally, of the amounts made available under the Program each fiscal year, the State or Indian Tribe may use up to 5% for providing technical assistance and administrative expenses associated with the Program.

IIJA Section 40101(d)(2)(B) provides that plans prepared by States or Indian Tribes for purposes of an application for funding under this Program shall (i) describe the criteria and methods that will be used by the State or Indian Tribe to award grants to eligible entities; (ii) be adopted after notice and a public hearing; and (iii) describe the proposed funding distributions and recipients of the grants to be provided by the State or Indian Tribe.

TDEC OEP anticipates that the State of Tennessee's draft plan for the Grid Resilience Formula Grant Program will be available on September 12, 2022. An informational webinar is available on the Grid Resilience Formula Grant Program Page. 

• View the Grid Resilience Formula Grant Program Page

TDEC OEP will accept written or verbal public comment on the draft plan from the date of its release up to and through COB on October 17, 2022, at 5:00 PM CDT. During the public hearing, the moderator may limit the length of oral comments to allow all parties an opportunity to speak and will require that all comments be relevant to the draft plan.

Interested persons may request to be added to a dedicated email listserv for this Program or obtain additional information, including a hardcopy of the draft plan, by contacting TDEC OEP at (615) 741-2994 or tdec.oep@tn.gov.

Individuals with disabilities who wish to participate in this public hearing should contact TDEC to discuss any auxiliary aids or services needed to facilitate such participation. Contact may be in person, by writing, telephone, or other means, and should be made no later than Thursday, September 8, 2022, to allow time to provide such aid or services. Contact the ADA Coordinator (615-532-0200) for further information. Hearing impaired callers may use the Tennessee Relay Service (1-800-848-0298). If it is hard for you to read, speak, or understand English, TDEC can provide translation or interpretation services free of charge by contacting TDEC OEP at (615) 741-2994 or tdec.oep@tn.gov.

Si le resulta difícil leer, hablar o comprender inglés, TDEC puede proporcionarle servicios de traducción o interpretación sin cargo comunicándose con the Office of Energy Programs al (615) 741-2994 o tdec.oep@tn.gov.