Senate Bill to Aid Microgrids and DERs, Endorsed by DOE, States, and Electrical Manufacturers, Being Considered

     Electrical reliability is a top-of-mind issue these days as demand continues to increase after years of no growth. A Senate bill was recently introduced called the Supporting Transformative Resilience, Operations, and Next-Generation Grid Innovation Deployment, or STRONG GRID Act, which seeks to make microgrids and distributed energy resources eligible for funding under state energy program grants and establish state-run grid resilience programs to support their deployment. The bill would empower a $200 million DOE pilot demonstration project and unleash $500 million in state grants.

“The National Association of State Energy Officials, the GridWise Alliance and manufacturers and distributors of grid equipment have endorsed the bill, saying it could help advance the national conversation around grid modernization. “Microgrids, generally, they’re not new. But they’re new to a lot of policymakers and states,” Peter Ferrell, senior director of government relations at the National Association of Electrical Manufacturers, told Utility Dive.”

     Microgrids can advance distributed energy resources (DERs) in the following ways, according to Utility Dive:

     They note that the money for states could do the following:

     Microgrids essentially can aid power system reliability, which is a need that grows alongside demand growth. Microgrids can help during extreme weather events by working to prevent outages. Some can be islanded, providing off-grid power during outages. They can also be built much faster than adding new generation or transmission. They are one tool among several to make grids more resilient and reliable

“As grid operators issue resource adequacy warnings and utilities revise demand forecasts upward at an unprecedented pace, tapping into local resources is an increasingly important way to protect communities from reliability risks,” GridWise Alliance CEO Karen Wayland said in a statement.

 

     

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$700M microgrid bill has state energy office, electrical manufacturer support: The bill would make microgrids and distributed energy resources eligible for state energy program grants and establish state-run grid resilience programs. Robert Walton. August 4, 2026. $700M microgrid bill has state energy office, electrical manufacturer support | Utility Dive