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DOE opens $100 million funding for cybersecurity help at rural and municipal utilities

On October 1, 2026 DOE's CESER announced its intent to fund not-for-profits under a $100 million opportunity to deliver cybersecurity technical assistance to electric cooperatives, municipal utilities and small investor-owned utilities. Awardees need formal partnerships with at least six qualifying utilities.

By Greener Numbers Editorial Team · Published October 3, 2026 · Updated 10/3/2026

The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER) announced on October 1, 2026 its intent to fund not-for-profit organizations that aim to improve the cybersecurity of electric cooperative, municipal and small investor-owned utilities.

The $100 million funding opportunity is available through CESER's Rural and Municipal Utility Cybersecurity (RMUC) Advanced Cybersecurity Technical Assistance Partnership Intermediary Agreement. Applicants must deliver technical assistance, technologies, services, threat information sharing and other support to eligible electric utilities. DOE says the RMUC technical assistance initiative is managed by ConnectWerx in partnership with DOE.

Awardees must show formal partnerships with no fewer than six qualifying electric utilities, and the ability to deliver meaningful cybersecurity improvements across the participating utilities. Eligible activities include cybersecurity assessments and planning, workforce training and certification, exercises and readiness, implementing cybersecurity tools, verification and validation, and threat information sharing.

This is a funding opportunity for organizations that will serve utilities, not a direct grant to individual utilities. Eligibility, anticipated award amounts, application requirements, evaluation criteria and the opportunity schedule are published through DOE's ConnectWerx page, which DOE's announcement points to.

Source: DOE CESER announcement, October 1, 2026.

Official source: U.S. Department of Energy ↗