The Department of Energy’s Rural and Municipal Utility Cybersecurity Program is inviting public power utilities, electric cooperatives, and small investor-owned utilities with limited cybersecurity resources to apply for competitive funding and technical assistance.
The funding and technical assistance is being offered through the Advanced Cybersecurity Technology (ACT) 1 Prize.
ACT 1 is a three-phase competition that challenges eligible utilities to identify risks and implement solutions that will harden their systems against threats and improve their overall cybersecurity posture. Utilities that progress through the competition will receive cash prizes and technical assistance.
RMUC anticipates funding a series of prizes going forward. Organizations that would like to receive updates on future prizes can join the RMUC email list by sending a request to CESER.RMUC@hq.doe.gov.
The ACT 1 Prize will be conducted in three increasingly competitive phases, with a utility winning all three phases receiving a total of $200,000 in cash and up to 120 or 240 hours of technical assistance.
Two mandatory informational webinars for applicants will be held on September 27 and October 11, and recordings will be available for those who are unable to attend live.
The program is currently open for entries and submissions are due by November 29, 2023.
Questions regarding the program may be sent to ACT.Prizes@nrel.gov.
