Dozens of cities receive grant funding to mitigate utility-initiated power shutoffs
Mar 24, 2021
In an effort to protect local communities and vulnerable Californians from the impact of utility-initiated power shutoffs, the state announced on March 17 the distribution of $50 million in Community Power Resiliency grants for cities, counties, tribes, and special districts.
The grants, awarded by the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, include $13 million distributed across 51 cities. Each city was allowed to apply for up to $300,000 on a competitive basis.
The state is encouraging cities to allocate funds they received through the grant to designated priority areas, including schools, election offices, food storage reserves, and COVID-19 testing sites.
The funds were allocated through the 2020-21 State Budget, and are the second round of resiliency grants from the budget cycle.
In FY 2019-20, cities received an additional $10 million in resiliency grants. The League of California Cities supported the inclusion of grants to protect vulnerable populations and improve resiliency of the state’s critical infrastructure in response to utility-led public safety power shutdown actions in both budget cycles.
The state is encouraging cities to allocate funds they received through the grant to designated priority areas, including schools, election offices, food storage reserves, and COVID-19 testing sites.
The funds were allocated through the 2020-21 State Budget, and are the second round of resiliency grants from the budget cycle.
In FY 2019-20, cities received an additional $10 million in resiliency grants. The League of California Cities supported the inclusion of grants to protect vulnerable populations and improve resiliency of the state’s critical infrastructure in response to utility-led public safety power shutdown actions in both budget cycles.