The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality's (DEQ) State Energy Office (SEO) is dedicated to ensuring a reliable, affordable and sustainable energy future for the residents of North Carolina. In furtherance of this mission, SEO is offering a competitive solicitation to improve the resilience of the electric grid against disruptive events.
Funding is made available by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Grid Deployment Office and supported by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act (IIJA), Section 40101d – Preventing Outages and Enhancing the Resilience of the Electric Grid - Resilience of The Electric Grid Formula Grants for States and Tribes. Under this Program, SEO will administer funding to subawardees across the state with an estimated value of $9.2 million annually for five years. Currently in its third year, NCSEO has committed approximately $18.49 million to eligible projects across North Carolina.
Approximately $8.6 million is currently available for eligible entities in North Carolina to modernize, strengthen and improve the resiliency and reliability of North Carolina’s electrical grid, with fifty percent of funding - or $4.32 million - set aside for small utilities. Per federal requirements, eligible entities for grid infrastructure and resilience subgrants include:
- Electric grid operators;
- Electricity storage operators;
- Electricity generators;
- Transmission owners or operators;
- Distribution providers;
- Fuel suppliers, or other entity determined by DOE Secretary.
The SEO encourages all eligible entities to apply but will prioritize entities that directly provide resilient electricity to the public and offer the greatest community benefit. Eligible applicants may implement a wide range of resilience measures to mitigate the impact of disruptive events and prevent outages, including mitigating climate-related risks, particularly in areas of North Carolina most vulnerable to natural disasters. Projects are expected to support NC’s energy goals as well as those of the Federal Administration and the legislative intent under section 40101(d) of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (P.L. 117-58). The three provisional objectives and metrics that North Carolina will use as guidance to fund DOE resiliency projects are below:
- Grid Modernization. Addition of grid technologies that strengthen resilience and increase the flexibility of the grid.
- Equitable Access to Resilient & Reliable Energy. Projects that will improve energy reliability and resiliency in disadvantaged communities, which are more impacted by outages and subject to higher energy burdens.
- Equitable Workforce Development. Commitment to equitable workforce development through projects that will attract, train, and retain an appropriately skilled workforce.
Proposals will be accepted until Friday, June 26.
Applicant Workshop
An optional Applicant Workshop for prospective applicants was held on Friday May 22, 2026. The Applicant Workshop reviewed the RFP, entity eligibility, eligible activities that will be funded, the cost match and other requirements, and provided guidance on completing and uploading the submission.
Questions and Answers
SEO cannot accept individual calls regarding the RFP. Applicants can submit questions on any aspect of the application process from May 13, 2026, until 5:00 PM on June 24, 2026. These will be updated weekly and posted here. Please send your specific questions to seo.team@deq.nc.gov.
The Q&A was last updated May 28, 2026. The next update will occur on June 5, 2026, for questions received by June 3, 2026.
RFP and Attachments
Contact Information
To contact an SEO staff member regarding this RFP, please SEO.team@deq.nc.gov