The Department of Energy (DOE) recently provided an update on the Grid Resilience State and Tribal Formula Grants authorized under Section 40101(d) of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that would allow more Tribes access to these funds.
Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC) has been advocating for DOE to administer the 40101d program in a way that recognizes the sovereign rights of tribes and fulfills the US governments’ goal of self-governance. Increasing access to these essential funds has been a top priority for TCC and for over a year, TCC leadership has been meeting with high-level officials within DOE to emphasize the need to ease grant restrictions. In addition to these meetings, TCC successfully submitted resolutions to both the Alaska Federation of Natives and the National Congress of American Indians encouraging action from our federal delegation and appointees at the highest level within the DOE.
After TCC leadership met with Senator Lisa Murkowski, she wrote a letter asking DOE to: (1) accept grant applications from tribal consortia; (2) reduce reporting requirements for small tribes; and (3) provide flexibility in Tribal cost matching requirements.
The efforts of TCC and Senator Murkowski proved successful, as the DOE recently announced the following decisions:
- DOE will now accept Tribal consortium applications. For eligible tribes and Alaska Native Corporations this means they can designate a tribal consortia to receive and manage funds on their behalf reducing administrative costs and potential tax liability
- DOE will reduce and streamline reporting requirements for Tribes that receive less than $500,000 in grid resilience grants.
- DOE has identified several grant programs that Tribes can utilize to cover their portion of the cost matching requirements.
- DOE will provide flexibility in allowing Tribes to incorporate existing generation sources into their grant application for certain purposes, including O&M, training, and parts, subject to certain limitations including megawatt hours cap contained in statue.
“This is good news for many of our Tribes who struggle with high energy costs,” says Chief/Chairman Brian Ridley, “I applaud the Department of Energy and Lisa Murkowski for listening to our Tribes and making these adjustments so that our rural communities are able to access this critical funding source.”
Previously the non-competitive, formula-based grant, which nearly 800 federally recognized tribes and ANC’s are eligible for had only a small number of eligible applicants due to its burdensome requirements which made the grant inaccessible to hundreds of Tribes and Native entities in areas experiencing some of the nation’s worst energy resiliency issues. These changes will allow fewer barriers for Tribes in accessing this essential funding source.