Community Energy Reliability and Resilience Investment (CERRI) Program

• The DOE approved the CEC’s application on June 21, 2023 and awarded the CEC funding for its Year One ($33,788,376), and Year Two ($33,708,915), and Year Three ($39,236,005) allocations (total of $106,733,296). Once available, the CEC intends to apply for Year Four funding.
• On April 3, 2024, the CEC released the CERRI Round 1 Grant Funding Opportunity. In December 2024, the CEC released a Notice of Letter of Intent to fund four projects proposing eligible grid hardening and energy resilience activities. Projects have been submitted to the DOE for approval.
• The CEC hosted an Information Session on January 15, 2025.
• The CEC anticipates the release of a Round 2 Grant Funding Opportunity in Q2 of 2025.

Application Forms and Waivers

Eligibility Request Form:
The CERRI Program will accept applications from the following eligible entities.

• electric grid operators
• electricity storage operators
• electricity generators
• transmission owners or operators
• distribution providers
• fuel suppliers
• any other relevant entity, as determined by the Secretary of Energy and CEC prior to the application deadline of the solicitation to which the proposal is submitted.

Entities that are not eligible based on this list may request approval through the Energy Commission by filling out the Eligibility Request Form and emailing it to the CEC at cerri@energy.ca.gov. The CEC and U.S. Secretary of Energy will consider the request for approval.

Waivers:

• Performance of Foreign Work Waiver: Applicants that seek to include foreign entity participation or foreign work in a CERRI funded project must submit a written Foreign Entity Participation Waiver and Foreign Work Waiver request(s). This request should be submitted with CERRI Program application packages.
  • Please consult the DOE’s Performance of Foreign Work in the United States Guidance for further information on submitting a waiver request.
• Build America Buy America Waiver: Applicants that seek to waive the Build America Buy America Requirements in a CERRI funded project must submit a written Buy America Waiver request(s). This request should be submitted with CERRI Program application packages.
  • Please consult the DOE’s Buy America Requirement Waiver Request Guidance for further information on submitting a waiver request.

Terms and Conditions:

Each grant agreement resulting from this solicitation will include terms and conditions that set forth the recipient’s rights and responsibilities. Applicants must agree to all final terms and conditions to receive CERRI Program funds. Be aware that the terms and conditions included in this solicitation are subject to change based on, in addition to other potential reasons, modifications to federal program requirements or terms and conditions by the U.S. Department of Energy, feedback and guidance the Energy Commission receives from the U.S. Department of Energy, and any project specific special terms and conditions the Energy Commission deems appropriate for a particular award.

• CERRI Federal Subaward Terms and Conditions
• CERRI CEC-Specific Subaward Terms and Conditions
• CERRI Special Terms and Conditions for Tribes
• CERRI Bankruptcy Terms and Conditions

Utility Sales Reference Data

Eligible applicants will fall in one of two groups as determined by their electricity sales the prior year. Use the Utility Sales Reference Data generated from the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s 2023 Annual Electricity Power Report (EIA-861) to determine the appropriate group. Eligible applicants may use other data sources if they are public and referenced on the Application Form, Attachment 01.

• Group 1: Large entities that sell more than 4,000GWh per year; and
• Group 2: Small entities that sell 4,000GWh or less per year.

Project Management Templates and Instructions

Once awarded, grant recipients will fill out and submit the below templates periodically, as determined by their designated due dates:

• Quarterly Progress Report Template
• Quarterly Progress Report Instructions
• Annual Project Metrics and Impact Report Template
• Annual Project Metrics and Impact Report Instructions
• Community Engagement and Impact Plan Template
• Workforce Development Plan Template

If you require assistance reading these instructions and/or templates, please contact cerri@energy.ca.gov.

Workshops

• CERRI Program Information Session (January 2025)
• Pre-Application Workshop (April 2024)
• Staff Workshop (September 2023)
• Program Kickoff Meeting (August 2022)

• Low-Cost Grid Resilience Projects
• Accelerating Deployment of Grid Solutions: DOE Report
• U.S. Department of Energy, Grid Deployment Office: Grid Resilience State/Tribal Formula Grant Program
• U.S. Department of Energy Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Section 40101(d)
• National Energy Technology Laboratory: Section 40101(D) Formula Grants to States & Indian Tribes
• Buy American (BAA) or Buy America - Made in America - PDF
• Baringa California Grid Resilience Report

• GFO-23-312 - Community Energy Reliability and Resilience Investment (CERRI) Program Round 1

The Community Energy Reliability & Resilience Investment (CERRI) Program invests in grid hardening and grid resilience projects across California that increase community energy reliability and resilience, support California’s climate and energy policies, improve energy justice and equity, and create good-paying jobs. The CERRI Program is a competitive grant program that is designed to prioritize projects that will generate the greatest community benefit by reducing the likelihood and consequences of electrical system outages. The program objectives are oriented around four main themes:

• Energy Reliability and Resilience: Reduce the frequency, duration, and magnitude of power outages and strengthen communities’ ability to function during power outages by providing day-to-day and emergency services for its constituents.
• Community Benefits: Ensure that the benefits of clean, safe, affordable, and reliable energy are shared by all, particularly priority communities (low-income, disadvantaged, and tribal) and communities with critical energy reliability and resilience needs.
• Advancement of Energy and Climate Goals: Support California’s energy and climate goals.
• Workforce Development and Labor: Create high-quality jobs with strong labor standards and protections that attract and train a skilled workforce for lasting careers in the clean energy industry.

• Proposed activities must strictly adhere to the below list of eligible activities and aim to improve the reliability and resilience of the electric grid against “disruptive events”. 
• Per Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) section 40101(a)(1),17 a disruptive event is “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.” 
• Disruptive events do not include threats from human causes (e.g., vehicle collisions, mylar balloons), nuisance pests (e.g., squirrels) or other non-environmental factors. 

The CERRI Program funds the following activities:

1. Weatherization technologies and equipment for grid hardening purposes
2. Fire-resistant technologies and fire prevention systems
3. Monitoring and control technologies
4. Undergrounding electrical equipment
5. Utility pole management
6. Relocation of power lines or reconductoring of power lines with low-sag, advanced conductors
7. Vegetation and fuel-load management
8. Use or construction of distributed energy resources for enhancing “system adaptive capacity” during electrical system outages, including microgrid subcomponents and battery storage
   • According to the US Department of Energy, system adaptive capacity is the ability of the electrical grid to continue to supply electricity where needed during disruptive events.
9. Adaptive protection technologies
10. Advanced modeling technologies
11. Hardening of power lines, facilities, substations, and other systems 
12. Replacement of old overhead conductors and underground cables
13. Funding may be used for the training, recruitment, retention, and reskilling of skilled and properly credentialled workers to perform the work required for the activities proposed by applicants. 
    • Funding for workforce development activities must be coupled with one or more of the eligible activities listed above. Funds awarded through this program cannot exclusively be directed towards general workforce development.
14. Funding may also be used for community engagement activities. 
    • Community engagement activities must be directly related to the proposed project and to electric grid reliability/resilience (e.g., community input workshops and/or electric outage preparedness workshops). 

• If a project proposes to use CERRI funds and/or match funds to award grants and scholarships, its application should include clear details regarding relevant curricula and the training objectives of the awarded grants and scholarships. 
  • Applicants must also demonstrate how the grants and scholarships will align with the workforce development or community engagement activities that support the project’s eligible activities.

Activities that are not eligible under this program include, but are not limited to, the following: 

1. Construction of a new electric generating facility, including the purchase or installation of an emergency generator
2. Solar photovoltaic (PV) generation and all other new energy generation
3. Residential and/or commercial building electrification and weatherization
4. Electric Vehicle (EV) chargers
5. Light-Emitting Diode (LED) lighting or solar carport lighting
6. Manufacturing
7. Community engagement activities outside the scope of the CERRI Program, such as developing a broader regional community resilience plan
8. Construction of new transmission lines
9. Cybersecurity, and
10. Acquisition of land or easements

Ineligible activities may be included in the overall project; however, they cannot be funded through this program or counted as match funding. Ineligible activities within a broader project will be subject to DOE’s Terms and Conditions, including compliance with Build America, Buy America (BABA), the Davis-Bacon Act, and the necessary reviews, such as National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). 

If you have any questions regarding the eligibility of your proposed project activities, please reach out to cerri@energy.ca.gov.

CERRI funding is available to the following eligible types of entities: 

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

• Any entity that falls under “g) any other relevant entity” may request approval through the Energy Commission by completing the Eligibility Request Form and emailing it to the CEC at cerri@energy.ca.gov
• Along with the Eligibility Request Form, entities seeking approval must submit documentation of actual electricity sales from the last 1-2 years that, at minimum, details the mega watt hour sales. 
• The request must be approved by both the CEC and the U.S. Secretary of Energy prior to the application (solicitation) deadline in order to qualify for funding.
• The CEC and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) cannot provide a definite timeframe as to when an entity will be approved or denied eligibility, but the estimated time frame is 30-65 days. 
  • As such, the CEC recommends applying for eligibility as soon as possible if the entity you represent does not clearly fit in one of the eligible entities.

The CERRI Program is funded by the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Section 40101(d).

The CERRI Program anticipates receiving 5 years of federal funding, totaling approximately $170 million. The program has released Round 1 funding ($64 million) which includes Years 1-2 funds.

The Round 2 Grant Funding Opportunity (solicitation) will include $37.28 million in Year 3 funding plus roll over $14.59 million in unspent funds from the Round 1 Grant Funding Opportunity (~$51M in total available funding for Round 2). 20% of total available funding will be set aside for Group 2 (Small Entity) projects.

The program anticipates releasing its Round 2 Grant Funding Opportunity in Quarter 1 of 2025.

Eligible applicants will fall in one of two groups as determined by their electricity sales from the prior year. 

Applicants should use the Utility Sales Reference Data generated from the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s 2023 Annual Electricity Power Report (EIA-891) to determine their appropriate group. Eligible applicants may use alternative publicly available data sources.

• Group 1: Large entities that sell more than 4,000GWh per year; and
• Group 2: Small entities that sell 4,000GWh or less per year

• Projects must be located in California and serve existing electric customers. 
• Projects do not need to be in investor-owned utility territory. 
• Each application may include up to three geographically distinct subprojects. 
• Project activities will be considered geographically distinct if they are located in separate utility service areas or non-adjacent census tracts within the same service territory, regardless of whether they are the same activity. 
• Project activities within the same or adjacent census tracts will typically be considered as part of a single project unless they are addressing distinct and differing reliability or resilience needs. 

The CERRI Program anticipates receiving 5 years of federal funding. The program has released funding for Years 1-2. The CEC anticipates releasing funding for Year 3 upon further guidance from the DOE. The CEC has not yet been awarded federal funding for Years 4-5.

• Match Funding: Applicants must provide cash or in-kind (non-cash) contributions that will be used towards the proposed project. Large entities (sell more than 4,000 GWh/year) must match at least 115% of the requested project funds, and small entities (sell 4,000 GWh or less/year) must match at 33.33% of the requested funding. Match funding does not include any federally or CEC derived awards or funds.
• Partner with Community Based Organization (CBO) or Tribe: At least one CBO and/or tribal partner should be clearly identified at the time of application. Applicants may not include CBO and/or tribal partners after application submittal. All CBOs must be clearly identified as subcontractors and compensated in the budget forms.
• Vendor and Equipment Quotes: Applicants must provide vendor quotes for all equipment items over $50,000. Quotes must also be provided from any vendor whose total project costs amount to $250,000 or more. Applicants are not required to use the vendors that they solicited quotes from for their application. The applications must include quotes to justify budget expenses but may ultimately choose to utilize separate vendors or equipment suppliers after the project has been awarded. If an applicant cannot obtain current vendor quotes for the projects, they may submit historical vendor quotes, within the past three years, for budget items as placeholders while waiting for updated quotes.
• Shovel-Ready Projects: Projects that have initiated the permitting, environmental review process (including California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review), and/or leverage stranded assets or existing infrastructure will be scored favorably.
• Prevailing Wage/Davis Bacon Act: The Davis-Bacon Act (DBA) mandates the payment of local prevailing wages for all construction, alteration, or repair work under CERRI-funded projects. DBA requires contractors and subcontractors to pay laborers and mechanics employed on federal construction contracts no less than the locally prevailing wages and fringe benefits for corresponding work on similar projects in the area. Contractors must maintain an accurate record of hours worked and wages paid, including fringe benefit contributions, and submit certified payrolls on a weekly basis. The project budget for labor must reflect these prevailing wage requirements.
• Build America Buy America (BABA): CERRI-funded projects are required to ensure certain infrastructure materials are American-made. When necessary, applicants may apply for, and the DOE may grant, a waiver from the Buy America requirements. When possible, waivers should be submitted with project applications. Please consult the DOE’s Buy America Requirement Waiver Request Guidance for further information on submitting a waiver request.
• Terms and Conditions: Each grant agreement resulting from this solicitation period will include terms and conditions that set forth the recipient’s rights and responsibilities. Applicants must agree to all final terms and conditions to receive CEC funds.
  • CERRI Federal Subaward Terms and Conditions
  • CERRI CEC-Specific Subaward Terms and Conditions
  • CERRI Special Terms and Conditions for Tribes
  • CERRI Bankruptcy Terms and Conditions

• During an open solicitation period, applicants may submit an application to the solicitation through the Energy Commission Agreement Management System (ECAMS). Open solicitation rounds will be announced on this webpage and via the CERRI Program subscription list.
• For instructions on how to apply using the ECAMS system, please see the How to Apply document available on the Funding Resources Web Page, under General Funding Information, Energy Commission Agreement Management System (ECAMS). 
• First time users must register as a new user to access the system. There will be two types of user accounts to establish: 1) An organizational account, for the entity applying to the solicitation; and 2) user accounts for individuals who will be submitting the application on behalf of the organization.
• For questions related to the submission of applications in the ECAMS system, please contact ECAMS.SalesforceSupport@energy.ca.gov. Through that email address applicants will be able to access a team of technical assistants who can answer questions about application submission.

• Once an application is selected for a proposed award, the CERRI Program will post a Notice of Letter of Intent (NOLOI) to fund.
• Following the posting of the NOLOI, the CERRI Program will contact proposed awardees to develop Project Submission Packages for DOE approval. For details on the requirements for a Project Submission Package, please review the documents posted under the “Resilience Project Notification Documents” dropdown menu.
• After receiving DOE approval, the CEC will post a Notice of Proposed Award (NOPA).
• Once the NOPA has been posted, the CEC will work with proposed awardees to finalize the agreement package for Commissioner approval at a CEC Business Meeting. Please note that California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review must be completed before a project can be approved at a Business Meeting.
• After obtaining Commissioner approval at a CEC Business Meeting, the awardee and CEC will sign the finalized contract, including Terms and Conditions, and the project may officially begin.

• Following project agreement execution, a kick-off meeting will be held to initiate the project and outline its goals and objectives.
• Monthly calls between the Commission Agreement Officer (CAM) and the recipient will be conducted to monitor the project’s progress. These calls will include a review and discussion of project milestones, deliverables, and any challenges encountered.
• CERRI Program recipients, in collaboration with their partnered community-based organization (CBO) or tribe, are required to develop and submit a Community Engagement, Benefits, and Impacts Plan to their CAM in a timely manner. Additionally, recipients must prepare and submit a Workforce Development Plan within the specified timeframe. 
• As the project nears completion, recipients must also submit a Community Engagement, Benefits, and Impacts Report, a Workforce Development Report, and a Final Project Report.
• Program recipients are responsible for completing and submitting periodic reports, including a Quarterly Progress Report, an Annual Project Impacts and Metrics Report, and weekly certified payroll records that comply with Davis-Bacon Act requirements.

The CERRI Program will offer ‘soft’ technical assistance to eligible entities applying to this GFO. This assistance includes the following:​ 

• Reviewing application attachments for completeness and compliance with DOE and CEC project requirements. 
• Reviewing proposed project activities’ eligibility.  
• Providing clarification on whether proposed project costs can be funded by CERRI Program or match funds.  
• Providing guidance on using California Climate Investment Priority Populations 4.0  tool to identify priority populations for application. 
• Assisting applicants in identifying the necessary federal forms, waivers, and documents to submit with their applications for DOE review.​ 

Technical assistance is not intended to provide pre-evaluations for applications. This service does not indicate if an application is likely to receive funding or score highly during scoring. It is meant to ensure applications meet CERRI Program objectives and minimum application requirements. 

To ensure a fair and equitable competitive process, CERRI Program Technical Assistance staff WILL NOT communicate with the CERRI Program application scoring team about submitted applications (except through the formal Q&A process open to all applicants) or participate in reviewing, scoring, selection and/or evaluation for purposes of approval or denial of applications and projects.​ Staff will keep a written record of technical assistance questions and release an updated Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section in the Q&A documents on the grant funding website. 

For purposes of the CERRI Program, ‘soft’ technical assistance refers to review of proposed project activities, application submission completeness and compliance, and opportunities to ask questions on a first-come, first-served basis. ‘Hard’ technical assistance, which will not be provided by the CERRI Program, refers to rendering electrical engineering and related subject matter expertise to qualified applicants. If CEC staff cannot provide the requested assistance, we will indicate this in an email response.  

To request Technical Assistance during the application phase, please contact CERRI@energy.ca.gov with the name of a primary contact and a brief description of the specific assistance you require. Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit review requests early in the application process.