Senators introduce STRONG GRID Act to fund $700 million in microgrid deployment
Sen. Peter Welch introduced the STRONG GRID Act on July 29, 2026, proposing a $200 million DOE pilot and $500 million in state grants for microgrids.
Photo by Kris Møklebust on Pexels
U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), ranking member of the Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Rural Development, Energy, and Credit, introduced the Supporting Transformative Resilience, Operations, and Next-Generation Grid Innovation Deployment (STRONG GRID) Act on July 29, 2026, legislation that would direct the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to establish a $200 million competitive grant pilot for microgrid projects and make microgrids and distributed energy resources eligible for an additional $500 million in state energy program grants, according to a release from Welch’s office.
The bill responds to a run of costly weather-driven grid failures. The United States suffered 23 “billion-dollar disasters” in 2025 that collectively cost more than $115 billion, the third-costliest year on record behind 2023 and 2024, Welch’s office said, citing Climate Central. Utilities pass much of that recovery cost to ratepayers; researchers at MIT Sloan found U.S. households are paying $35 more per year on average on electricity bills as a result of storm-related grid damage, according to the release.
What the STRONG GRID Act would fund
Under the bill, the DOE would be required to launch its $200 million pilot program within one year of enactment, awarding competitive grants to projects that demonstrate microgrid capabilities such as providing ancillary grid services and managing supply and demand, Utility Dive reported. Microgrids are localized electric grids capable of operating independently of the broader power system, allowing them to keep functioning when the wider grid goes down. The remaining $500 million would flow through state energy program grants, making microgrids and distributed energy resources an eligible use of that funding for the first time and establishing state-run grid resilience programs to support deployment.
The legislation arrives as U.S. electricity demand is forecast to climb, with Grid Strategies projecting demand growth of as much as 5.7% through 2030, a pace not seen since the 1960s, according to the Welch release. Peak demand on the hottest and coldest days already strains the grid, leaving less headroom to absorb damage when storms hit.
| Provision | Amount / detail |
|---|---|
| DOE competitive microgrid pilot | $200 million, launched within 1 year of enactment |
| State energy program grants for microgrids | $500 million |
| Total proposed funding | $700 million |
| 2025 U.S. billion-dollar disaster cost | More than $115 billion (23 events) |
| Added annual household electricity cost from storm damage | $35 |
| Projected U.S. electricity demand growth through 2030 | Up to 5.7% |
Industry and advocacy backing
The bill is endorsed by the GridWise Alliance, Honeywell Technologies, the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), the National Association of Electrical Distributors (NAED), the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) and the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA). GridWise Alliance CEO Karen Wayland said in the release that “tapping into local resources is an increasingly important way to protect communities from reliability risks,” calling the bill “a faster path to microgrid deployment in areas at high risk where extending or hardening traditional infrastructure can take years.” NAED President and CEO Wes Smith said the group’s nearly 6,000 electrical distribution facilities nationwide are “ready to provide the equipment, logistics, and technical expertise needed to bring these projects online.”
“By operating independently of the larger energy system, microgrids offer a solution to increase the resiliency of our grid and help reduce the burden consumers face in natural disaster recovery costs,” Welch said in the release. “It’s a win-win.”
The bill follows a wave of state-level grid modernization activity; Winss has previously reported that U.S. states took 481 grid modernization actions in the second quarter of 2026 and detailed how microgrids function as localized, resilient power sources. The STRONG GRID Act had not been scheduled for a committee vote as of its introduction, according to Utility Dive.
Background
Microgrids are self-contained electricity systems that combine local generation, storage and distribution and can “island” from the main grid during an outage, keeping power flowing to the buildings or communities they serve. Federal interest in microgrid funding has grown alongside more frequent extreme-weather outages and rising electricity demand tied to data centers and electrification. The STRONG GRID Act would be the first federal program explicitly making microgrids and distributed energy resources eligible for the DOE’s state energy program grants, building on existing state-level grid-hardening efforts and adding a dedicated federal pilot aimed at proving out microgrid deployment models before wider rollout.
Sources: Office of Senator Peter Welch; Utility Dive; E&E News by POLITICO
Featured image: photo by Kris Møklebust on Pexels (free Pexels license).
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I specialize in sustainability education, curriculum co-creation, and early-stage project strategy. At WINSS, I craft articles on sustainability, transformative AI, and related topics. When I’m not writing, you’ll find me chasing the perfect sushi roll, exploring cities around the globe, or unwinding with my dog Puffy — the world’s most loyal sidekick.
