Rural and Municipal Utility Advanced Cybersecurity Grant: Act 1 Prize

 
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    CFDA#

    		 

    Funder Type

    Federal Government

    IT Classification

    A - Primarily intended to fund technology

    Authority

    U.S. Department of Energy (DoE)

    Summary

    ACT 1 Prize 2023

    The Rural and Municipal Utility Cybersecurity (RMUC) Program invites electric cooperative, municipal, and small investor-owned utilities to apply for competitive funding and technical assistance through the ACT 1 Prize Competition. The ACT 1 Prize, announced August 30, 2023, is the first in a series of Prizes that will be offered under the RMUC Program.


    The ACT 1 Prize offers a total prize pool of up to $8.96 million in cash and technical assistance across three increasingly competitive phases—Commitment, Planning, and Implementation—where each phase concludes with a prize award.  This three-phase competition will challenge eligible utilities to identify risks and implement solutions to harden their systems against threats and improve heir overall cybersecurity posture.


    ACT 1 Prize:


    Phase 1 - Commitment Phase Competitors will have an opportunity to prepare submission packages that describe their resources, need for improving their utility's cybersecurity posture, and their commitment to participating in the ACT 1 Prize. Winning utilities in the Commitment Phase will receive cash prizes and technical assistance based on their commitment to improving their utility's cybersecurity posture through investments in cybersecurity technologies, staff training, and improvements to governance processes.

    Act 1 prize winners will:

    • Develop network architectures of their digital systems to identify and prioritize where interventions might be most effective
    • Assess current cybersecurity technical stacks for gaps, duplication of functions, and opportunities to fully utilize existing capabilities
    • Create cybersecurity plans and roadmaps to improve their cybersecurity posture
    • Identify solutions that can be operated and maintained by existing staff and budgets
    • Develop budgets, cost projections, and purchasing plans to minimize third-party risks when selecting solutions
    • Implement solutions • Develop and implement processes to ensure solutions are installed securely and perform as intended.

    Phase 2 – Planning Phase

    Utilities will work with technical assistance providers to complete system assessments, identify areas for training, understand potential risks and solutions, and draft a roadmap for implementation. Winning utilities will receive cash prizes and technical assistance based on the work completed during the Planning Phase.

    Phase 3 – Implementation Phase

    Utilities will work with technical assistance providers to make progress implementing their cybersecurity roadmap. Winning utilities will receive cash prizes based on the work completed during the Implementation Phase.

     

    History of Funding

    None is available.

    Additional Information

    Priority will be given to applicants with the following:

    1. has limited cybersecurity resources
    2. owns assets critical to the reliability of the bulk power system
    3. owns defense critical electric infrastructure

    Contacts

    Secretary of Energy

    Secretary of Energy
    1000 Independence Avenue Southwest
    Washington, DC 20585
    202-586-5000

    RMUC Grant Staff

    RMUC Grant Staff

    ,
     

  • Eligibility Details

    The following entities are eligible:

    1. a rural electric cooperative;
    2. a utility owned by a political subdivision, such as a municipally owned electric utility;
    3. a utility owned by any agency, authority, corporation, or instrumentality of one or more political subdivisions;
    4. a not-for-profit entity that is in a partnership with at least six entities described above.
    5. an investor-owned electric utility that sells fewer than 4,000,000 megawatt hours of electricity per year

    Deadline Details

    Phase 1-Applications are due by November 29, 2023.


    In addition to submitting an application, Phase 1 applicants are required to participate in both of the mandatory virtual webinars (webinars will be recorded).

    The anticipated application opening for Phase 2 is March 2024.

    The anticipated application opening for Phase 3 is October 2024.

    Award Details

    The ACT 1 Prize offers a total prize pool of up to $8.96 million in cash and technical assistance across three increasingly competitive phases—Commitment, Planning, and Implementation—where each phase concludes with a prize award.


    March 2024 - Phase 1 winners notified / Phase 2 submissions open (anticipated date).

    October 2024 - Phase 2 winners notified/Phase 3 submissions open (anticipated date).

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