[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 246 (Tuesday, December 26, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 88896-88898]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-28401]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Preventing Outages and Enhancing the Resilience of the Electric 
Grid Formula Grants to States and Indian Tribes

AGENCY: Grid Deployment Office, Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) National Energy 
Technology Laboratory (NETL) intends to issue, on behalf of the DOE 
Grid Deployment Office (GDO), an amendment to the Administrative and 
Legal Requirements Document (ALRD)

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DE-FOA-0002736 (BIL--Preventing Outages and Enhancing the Resilience of 
the Electric Grid Formula Grants to States and Indian Tribes), titled 
Amendment 000008. This grant program is authorized under of the 
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), and Amendment 000008 provides 
access to fiscal year (FY) 2024 formula grant allocations.

ADDRESSES: Requests for more information should be addressed by 
electronic mail to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Parsons, (240) 449-7764, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BIL is a once-in-a-generation investment 
in infrastructure, which will grow a more sustainable, resilient, and 
equitable economy through enhancing U.S. competitiveness, driving the 
creation of good-paying union jobs, and ensuring stronger access to 
economic, environmental, and other benefits for disadvantaged 
communities. The BIL appropriates more than $62 billion to DOE to 
invest in American manufacturing and workers; expand access to energy 
efficiency; deliver reliable, clean, and affordable power to more 
Americans; and deploy the technologies of tomorrow through clean energy 
demonstrations.
    The forthcoming ALRD Amendment 000008, expected to take effect in 
January 2024 (available at: https://www.fedconnect.net/fedconnect/?doc=DE-FOA-0003221&agency=DOE), will support the Administration and 
Congressional goals to (1) demonstrate measurable improvements in 
energy resilience in the United States and mitigate climate related 
risk, (2) invest in modernized grid infrastructure that can enable 
consumer access to lower-cost energy and accommodate increased 
electrification, increased penetrations of variable renewable 
electricity and distributed energy resources, and other evolving system 
needs over the coming decades, (3) invest in clean energy and 
decarbonization solutions to achieve a carbon-free power sector by 2035 
and net-zero greenhouse gas emissions economy-wide by 2050, and (4) 
create good-paying jobs with the free and fair choice to join a union.
    The purpose of ALRD Amendment 000008 is to allow for submission of 
applications for the FY 2024 formula grant allocations. The FY 2024 
formula grant allocation amounts are available at: https://netl.doe.gov/bilhub/grid-resilience/formula-grants. The process for 
requesting a FY 2024 allocation depends on whether the applicant is an 
existing grant recipient, a current grant applicant, or a new grant 
applicant:
     Existing Grant Recipients that have already received 
grants for FY 2022 and FY 2023 of the Program will have 90 days from 
the issuance of ALRD Amendment 000008 to request their FY 2024 
allocation, in accordance with the Terms and Conditions of their 
current Grant award.
     Current Grant Applicants that previously submitted a grant 
application for FY 2022 and FY 2023 of the program but have not yet 
received their grant at the time the ALRD Amendment 000008 (for FY 
2024) is issued, will have 90 days from the issuance of ALRD Amendment 
000008 to amend their submitted grant application to include the FY 
2024 allocations.
     New Grant Applicants are eligible applicants (as defined 
in ALRD Amendment 0000008) that did not submit a grant application for 
FY 2022 and FY 2023 of the Program. New Grant Applicants will have 90 
days from the issuance of ALRD Amendment 000008 to submit a grant 
application for a FY 2024 allocation. Several one-time actions, 
explained below, must be completed before an application can be 
submitted, including registration with the System for Award Management 
(SAM), obtaining a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI), and registering with 
FedConnect.net. These actions can be completed prior to the issuance of 
ALRD Amendment 000008. Prospective New Grant Applicants are encouraged 
to address these items as soon as possible, as some may take several 
weeks to complete. Additional instructions for New Grant Applicants 
will be provided in the ALRD Amendment 000008.

    Note: Neither applications nor allocation requests are being 
accepted at this time.

    The current ALRD (Amendment 000007) is available at: https://www.fedconnect.net/fedconnect/?doc=DE-FOA-0002736&agency=DOE.
    New Grant Applicants must complete the following steps in order to 
submit their application via FedConnect:
    Pre-application actions:
    SAM--Applicants must register with the SAM at https://www.sam.gov/ 
prior to submitting an application in response to this ALRD. 
Designating an Electronic Business Point of Contact (EBiz POC) and 
obtaining a special password called an MPIN are important steps in SAM 
registration. The applicant must maintain an active SAM registration 
with current information at all times during which it has an active 
Federal award or an application under consideration. More information 
about SAM registration for applicants is available at: https://www.fsd.gov/gsafsd_sp?id=gsafsd_kb_articles&sys_id=650d493e1bab7c105465 
eaccac4bcbcb.

    Note: If clicking the SAM links do not work, please copy and 
paste the link into your browser.

    UEI--Applicants must obtain an UEI from the SAM to uniquely 
identify the entity. The UEI is available in the SAM entity 
registration record.

    Note: Subawardees/subrecipients at all tiers must also obtain an 
UEI from the SAM and provide the UEI to the award recipient before 
the subaward can be issued.


    Note: Due to the high demand of UEI requests and SAM 
registrations, entity legal business name and address validations 
are taking longer than expected to process. Entities should start 
the UEI and SAM registration process as soon as possible. If 
entities have technical difficulties with the UEI validation or SAM 
registration process they should utilize the HELP feature on 
SAM.gov. SAM.gov will address entity service tickets in the order in 
which they are received and asks that entities not create multiple 
service tickets for the same request or technical issue.

    FedConnect.net--Applicants must register with FedConnect to submit 
applications in response to the ALRD, to submit questions, and to 
receive the award. FedConnect website: https://www.fedconnect.net/. For 
more information regarding registration with FedConnect, review the 
FedConnect Ready, Set, Go! Guide at: https://www.fedconnect.net/FedConnect/Marketing/Documents/FedConnect_Ready_Set_Go.pdf.
    Electronic Signatures--Acknowledgement of award documents by the 
Grant Recipient authorized representative through electronic systems 
used by the Department of Energy, including FedConnect, constitutes the 
Grantee's acceptance of the terms and conditions of the award. 
Acknowledgement via FedConnect by the Grantee's authorized 
representative constitutes the Grantee's electronic signature.

Signing Authority

    This document of the Department of Energy was signed on December 
14, 2023, by Maria D. Robinson, pursuant to delegated authority from 
the Secretary of Energy. That document with the original signature and 
date is maintained by DOE. For administrative purposes only, and in 
compliance with requirements of the Office of the Federal Register, the 
undersigned DOE Federal Register Liaison Officer has been authorized to 
sign and submit the document in electronic format for

[[Page 88898]]

publication, as an official document of the Department of Energy. This 
administrative process in no way alters the legal effect of this 
document upon publication in the Federal Register.

    Signed in Washington, DC, on December 20, 2023.
Treena V. Garrett,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2023-28401 Filed 12-22-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P