The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has opened a $100 million funding opportunity aimed at enhancing cybersecurity for electric utilities through support from not-for-profit organizations. This initiative, announced by the DOE’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER) on October 1, focuses on assisting municipally-owned, cooperative, and small investor-owned utilities.
CESER Director Andrew McClure emphasized that many resource-constrained electricity providers lack access to necessary cybersecurity tools and expertise. The funding will help bridge this gap by providing hands-on technical support, threat information sharing, and resources for system hardening.
The financial support comes through the Rural and Municipal Utility Cybersecurity (RMUC) Advanced Cybersecurity Technical Assistance Partnership Intermediary Agreement, administered by ConnectWerx in collaboration with the DOE. Interested organizations must apply by 2 p.m. Eastern on October 20.
To be eligible, nonprofits must establish partnerships with at least six qualifying utilities and demonstrate their capacity to deliver significant cybersecurity enhancements, including training, assessments, and threat information sharing.
This initiative was established under the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which aims to bolster cybersecurity readiness for rural and small electric utilities. The previous funding opportunity was the Advanced Cybersecurity Technology (ACT) 1 Prize Competition.
