Assistance to High Energy Cost Rural Communities

The summary for the Assistance to High Energy Cost Rural Communities grant is detailed below. This summary states who is eligible for the grant, how much grant money will be awarded, current and past deadlines, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) numbers, and a sampling of similar government grants. Verify the accuracy of the data FederalGrants.com provides by visiting the webpage noted in the Link to Full Announcement section or by contacting the appropriate person listed as the Grant Announcement Contact. If any section is incomplete, please visit the website for the Utilities Programs, which is the U.S. government agency offering this grant.

Assistance to High Energy Cost Rural Communities: The RUS High Energy Cost Grant Program offers financial assistance to provide, improve, or reduce the costs of energy generation, transmission, and distribution services for rural communities with home energy costs that are over 275 percent of the national average. Your community is eligible if average per unit costs for home energy or average annual household expenditures by fuel or for total energy meet or exceed under one or more of the following high energy cost benchmarks: Electricity: $0.239 per kilowatt hour, or $2,509 per year Natural gas; $26.85 per thousand cubic feet, or $1,859 per year Fuel oil: $3.35 per gallon, or $1,882 per year LPG/propane: $3.61 per gallon, or $1,514 per year Total household energy: $43.91 per million Btus, or $4,013 per year. Grants may be used for the acquisition, construction, installation, repair, replacement, or improvement of energy generation, transmission, or distribution facilities in high energy cost communities. On-grid and off-grid renewable energy projects, and implementation of energy efficiency, and energy conservation projects are eligible. An activity that meets the objectives of improving energy service or reducing the costs of energy services to eligible communities is an acceptable grant purpose. Examples of eligible project activities include the acquisition, construction, replacement, repair, or improvement of: (1) Electric generation, transmission, and distribution facilities, equipment, and materials, including associated and supporting activities; land or right of way acquisition, engineering and professional expenses, permitting costs; (2) Natural gas distribution or storage facilities and associated equipment; (3) Petroleum product storage and handling facilities; (4) Renewable energy facilities and equipment for power generation, water, space or process heating (renewable energy sources include solar, wind, hydropower, or biomass technologies); and (5) Backup up or emergency power generation or energy storage equipment, included distributed generation installed on consumer premises. Grant funds may not be used for: payment of utility bills, fuel purchases, routine maintenance or other operating costs, purchase of equipment, structures, or real estate not directly associated with provision of community energy services, or preparation of the grant application. All timely and complete applications will be reviewed and ranked by an RUS rating panel according to the evaluation criteria set out in the NOFA. Priority consideration is given to communities experiencing economic hardship and to rural communities based on population. The RUS Administrator will award grants based on rank order and panel recommendations.