Community Energy Reliability and Resilience Investment (CERRI) Program

The Community Energy Reliability and Resilience Investment (CERRI) Program funds grid hardening and energy resilience projects across California that increase community energy resilience and reliability, advance state energy policy goals, better protect communities from extreme weather, and create good-paying jobs.

Status

Current Status: Round 2 of the CERRI Grant Funding Opportunity closed on August 29, 2025. Four agreements were awarded under Round 1 and five projects are proposed for award under Round 2. This program is not currently soliciting new applications. The release of a Round 3 of funding is pending continuation from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), timeline unknown.

Program Funding Source: ~$180 million of federal funding over 5 years (2022–2032) appropriated under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Section 40101(d) “Preventing Outages and Enhancing the Resilience of the Electric Grid."

Funding Released to Date: Years 1–3 funding, totaling ~$106.7 million, was last approved by DOE in 2024. $101.3 million has been allocated to grants to date. Status of Years 4–5 funding is pending.

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Round 1:

  • Anaheim Public Utilities – Awarded $7.45 million for the Distribution Switch Reliability and Automation Upgrades project. This $13.3 million project will replace up to 40 aging switches and deploy advanced automation technology to reduce outage restoration times from up to 90 minutes to less than 10. The project will also eliminate 700 pounds of SF₆ greenhouse gas and create new career opportunities, including apprenticeships and internships to help train the next generation of utility workers.
  • Scale Microgrid Solutions – Awarded $4.2 million for the Santa Barbara City College Community Resilience Hub project. This $7.9 million college campus solar-storage-and-EV charging microgrid project will support the installation of battery storage and microgrid components to provide backup power during outages. The campus will serve as a safe gathering place for residents to access supplies, charge electronics, and receive medical assistance during emergencies. The project will also offer paid internships and job training opportunities for local students.
  • PacifiCorp – Awarded $12.4 million for the California: Planning Resilience project. This $25.9 million project will deploy 20 miles of covered conductor and install advanced metering infrastructure across rural Northern California. These upgrades will reduce wildfire risk, improve fault detection, and expedite service restoration for communities, including Happy Camp and Karuk tribal lands. PacifiCorp will partner with unions to provide apprenticeships and tuition assistance, creating pathways to careers in the energy sector for local residents.
  • Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) – Awarded $25.5 million for the Preventing Outages with Enhanced Reliability (POWER) project. This $69.7 million project will prioritize neighborhoods with aging infrastructure by replacing underground cables and network protectors. The upgrades will improve reliability, enhance safety, and support efficient energy management and quick responses to potential issues. SMUD will hire and train local apprentices and work with community partners to share project updates.

Eligible Entity Types:

CERRI funding is available to:

  1. Electric grid operators
  2. Electricity storage operators
  3. Electricity generators
  4. Transmission owners or operators
  5. Distribution providers
  6. Fuel suppliers
  7. Any other relevant entity, as determined by the Secretary of Energy and CEC prior to the application deadline*

*If your entity doesn't clearly fall into categories 1–6: Submit an Eligibility Request Form to cerri@energy.ca.gov, along with documentation of actual electricity sales from the last 1–2 years (at minimum, megawatt-hour sales). 

Both the CEC and U.S. Secretary of Energy must approve the request before the solicitation deadline. Estimated review time: 30–65 days — apply early.

Applicant Groups: (determines match-funding requirement, see “How to Apply” section)

Eligibility is based on prior-year electricity sales, per the EIA-861 2024 Annual Electricity Power Report (or other public data from 2024-2025):

  • Group 1 (Large Entities): sell more than 4,000 GWh per year
  • Group 2 (Small Entities): sell 4,000 GWh or less per year

Eligible Activities:

Projects must improve grid reliability/resilience against “disruptive events” (extreme weather, wildfire, or natural disaster, not human-caused events like vehicle collisions or animal interference).

  • Weatherization technologies and equipment for grid hardening
  • Fire-resistant technologies and fire prevention systems
  • Monitoring and control technologies
  • Undergrounding electrical equipment
  • Utility pole management
  • Relocation or reconductoring of power lines with low-sag, advanced conductors
  • Vegetation and fuel-load management
  • Distributed energy resources for system adaptive capacity (e.g., microgrid subcomponents, battery storage)
  • Adaptive protection technologies
  • Advanced modeling technologies
  • Hardening of power lines, facilities, substations, and other systems
  • Replacement of old overhead conductors and underground cables
  • Workforce training/recruitment/retention (must be coupled with one of the above and cannot be funded on its own)
  • Engagement activities (must relate directly to the project and to grid reliability/resilience)
  • Grants/scholarships (if proposed, application must detail curricula and training objectives, and show direct alignment with the project's workforce or engagement activities)

Ineligible Activities:

  • New electric generating facilities, including emergency generators
  • Solar photovoltaic (PV) generation and other new energy generation
  • Residential/commercial building electrification and weatherization
  • Electric vehicle (EV) chargers
  • Light Emitting Diode (LED) lighting or solar carport lighting
  • Manufacturing
  • Community engagement outside CERRI's scope (e.g., broader regional resilience plans)
  • New transmission lines
  • Cybersecurity
  • Acquisition of land or easements

Ineligible activities may still be referenced in a project's Scope of Work but cannot appear in Budget Forms, and are subject to full DOE terms and requirements (BABA, Davis-Bacon, NEPA, etc.).

Questions on activity eligibility cerri@energy.ca.gov.

Application Requirements:

  • Match funding: 
    • Group 1 (large) entities must match ≥115% of requested funds; 
    • Group 2 (small) entities must match ≥33.33%. 
    • Match funds cannot include other federal or CEC awards.
  • Community-based Organization/Tribal partner: At least one community-based organization or tribal partner must be identified at the time of application — none may be added afterward. 
    • Must be listed as a subcontractor and compensated in the budget.
  • Vendor/equipment quotes: Required for any equipment item over $50,000, and for any vendor whose total project cost is $250,000+. 
    • Historical quotes (within 3 years) are allowed as placeholders if current quotes aren’t available.
  • Shovel-ready preference: Projects with permitting and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review already underway, or that leverage existing infrastructure, score more favorably.
  • Prevailing wage (Davis-Bacon Act): Applies to all construction/alteration/repair work; certified payrolls required weekly.
  • Build America, Buy America (BABA): Certain materials must be American-made; waivers available (see Terms & Waivers below).
  • Geographic scope: Projects must be in California and serve existing customers (IOU territory not required). 
    • Up to 3 geographically distinct subprojects per application; “distinct” = separate service areas or non-adjacent census tracts.

How to Submit:

Waivers:

  • Foreign Work Waiver — required if project includes foreign entity participation/work. See DOE guidance.
  • Buy America Waiver — Encouraged but not required at application; required post-award if needed. See DOE guidance and Waiver Request Template. 

During an open solicitation, CERRI offers “soft” technical assistance:

  • Reviewing application attachments for completeness/compliance
  • Reviewing proposed activity eligibility
  • Clarifying whether costs can be funded by CERRI or match funds
  • Guidance on the California Climate Investment Priority Populations 4.0 tool
  • Help identifying required federal forms/waivers

Not Provided: 

  • Pre-evaluation of application competitiveness, or “hard” technical assistance (engineering/subject-matter expertise). 
  • Technical Assistance staff do not communicate with the scoring team about specific applications outside the formal Q&A process.

Disclaimer: Technical Assistance is here to support and guide applicants, but mistakes can happen. It’s each applicant’s responsibility to make sure their final application is accurate and meets all program requirements. To ensure applicants receive accurate guidance, please direct all questions to cerri@energy.ca.gov before the Question & Answer period’s deadline. Inquiries will receive direct responses and responses will be anonymized and published via the formal Q&A process. 

Request assistance: CERRI@energy.ca.gov (include a primary contact name and brief description of what you need — apply early in the process).

Contact:

Community Energy Reliability and Resilience Investment (CERRI) Program

What Happens After You Apply:

  1. Selected applicants receive a Notice of Letter of Intent (NOLOI).
  2. CERRI works with proposed awardees to build a Project Submission Package for DOE approval.
  3. After DOE approval, CEC posts a Notice of Proposed Award (NOPA).
  4. CEC finalizes the agreement package for Commissioner approval at a Business Meeting (CEQA review must be complete first).
  5. Contract signed → project begins.

Post-Execution Process:

  1. Kick-off meeting to set project goals/objectives.
  2. Monthly calls with your Commission Agreement Manager (CAM) to review milestones and deliverables.
  3. Submit an Engagement Plan (with your CBO/tribal partner) and a Workforce Development Plan.
  4. Near project completion: Engagement Report, Workforce Development Report, Final Project Report.
  5. Ongoing: Quarterly Progress Reports, Annual Project Impacts and Metrics Reports, Semi-Annual David-Bacon Enforcement Reports, and weekly certified payroll (Davis-Bacon compliance).

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Proceeding Information

Contact

Community Energy Reliability and Resilience Investment (CERRI) Program
CERRI@Energy.ca.gov

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Community Energy Reliability and Resilience Investment (CERRI) Program