High Energy Cost Grants — USDA Rural Development funding opportunity
USDA Rural Development · Federal agency

High Energy Cost Grants

This program assists energy providers and other eligible entities in lowering energy costs for families and individuals in areas with extremely high per-household energy costs (275 percent of the national average or high...

63
match
Deadline Rolling Location Alabama Type grant Level Federal Open
✦ AI Summary
  • Who can apply: Federal-level applicants (see eligibility for details).
  • Deadline: Rolling — applications accepted any time.
  • Issued by: USDA Rural Development.
Sign in to generate AI summary
How was this generated?

The “key facts” mode pulls structured fields directly from the official source posting (amount, deadline, eligibility tags). The AI mode adds a short plain-English narrative on top, generated from the same source. Always verify with the agency before applying.

AI-generated. Always verify with the official source.

Who can apply — at a glance

  • Eligible applicants: see the Eligibility tab for the criteria from the official announcement.
  • Where: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, District of Columbia.
  • Award: amount not specified by the source.
  • Matching funds: not required.
  • Deadline type: Rolling.

Compiled from the official listing's structured fields — always verify with the funder before applying.

About the funder

USDA Rural Development is a federal-level funder.

See all 32 open programs from this agency →

Deadline
Rolling

About this opportunity

This program assists energy providers and other eligible entities in lowering energy costs for families and individuals in areas with extremely high per-household energy costs (275 percent of the national average or higher.) High Energy Cost Grants Application Window: Closed Program Application Period: No competition is planned for FY2026 Grants.gov Posting Overview To Apply Other Requirements Contact Events Overview What does this program do? Assists energy providers and other eligible entities in lowering energy costs for families and individuals in communities with extremely high per-household energy costs (275 percent of the national average or higher.) Who may apply? Most retail or power supply providers serving an eligible rural community, including: State and local governmental entities Federally-recognized Tribes and Tribal entities. Non-profits, including cooperatives and limited dividend or mutual associations For-profit businesses What is an eligible community? Eligible communities must demonstrate annual average household energy cost exceeding 275 percent of the national average under benchmarks published in the 2025 High Energy Cost Grant Funding Opportunity Announcement. Eligible areas must be located in the United areas eligible by law to participate in USDA Rural Utilities Service Programs . What kind of funding is available? Grants How may the funds be used? To finance the acquisition, construction or improvement of facilities serving eligible communities, including: Electric generation, transmission and distribution facilities, including: Equipment, materials and activities Land or right-of-way acquisition, professional expenses, engineering and permitting costs Natural gas distribution and storage facilities, including equipment, materials and activities Petroleum product storage and handling facilities, including equipment, materials and activities Renewable energy facilities, including or biomass technologies used for on- or off-grid: electric power generation water or space heating process heating and power Backup or emergency power generation or energy storage technology, including generation equipment installed on consumer premises Implementation of initiatives such as: Energy efficiency improvements and conservation measures ( weatherization of residences and community facilities) Programs encouraging the use of energy-saving appliances and devices Programs aimed at improving the quality and cost of energy service For additional details, see the Code of Federal Regulations 7 CFR 1709 What is the national average annual home energy cost? For the purposes of this program, the high energy cost benchmarks effective for 2025 High Energy Cost Grant Funding Opportunity Announcement: Electricity  $3,795 ($0.4494 per kilowatt hour) Natural gas  $1,733 ($38.03 per thousand cubic feet) Fuel oil  $3,366 ($11.33 per gallon) LPG/propane  $2,021 ($6.88 per gallon) Total household energy $5,181 ($67.46 per million Btu) What is the current status of the program and who currently participates? Our Project Summaries provide a list of participants Who can answer questions about this program? For other questions, contact  the Rural Electric Program staff What governs this program? Rural Electrification Act of 1936, as amended in 7 901 Code of Federal Regulations 7 CFR 1709 Why does USDA Rural Development do this? This program helps to offset extremely high household energy costs in areas where local conditions cause energy costs to exceed 275 percent of the national average. This type of assistance increases economic opportunity and the quality of life in rural communities nationwide by maintaining a seamless electric network for all Americans, regardless of where they live. NOTE: Program details may change over time. Before you begin an application, please confirm you have the most current information by

Funding agency

USDA Rural Development
Federal agency

Tags

Agriculture & Farming Healthcare & Biotech Nonprofit & Community Technology & Software Energy & Utilities Construction & Housing Tribal & Native Rural Development Climate & Environment Science, Tech & Engineering (STEM) Energy rural rural-development
Want help applying?

Our specialists will check your eligibility, prepare the application, and walk you through every step — for free. Create a free account →

Who can apply

Eligibility details aren't on file yet — check the agency source link in the Documents tab for the latest rules.

Geographic eligibility

  • Alabama
  • Alaska
  • Arizona
  • Arkansas
  • California
  • Colorado
  • Connecticut
  • Delaware
  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Hawaii
  • Idaho
  • Illinois
  • Indiana
  • Iowa
  • Kansas
  • Kentucky
  • Louisiana
  • Maine
  • Maryland
  • Massachusetts
  • Michigan
  • Minnesota
  • Mississippi
  • Missouri
  • Montana
  • Nebraska
  • Nevada
  • New Hampshire
  • New Jersey
  • New Mexico
  • New York
  • North Carolina
  • North Dakota
  • Ohio
  • Oklahoma
  • Oregon
  • Pennsylvania
  • Rhode Island
  • South Carolina
  • South Dakota
  • Tennessee
  • Texas
  • Utah
  • Vermont
  • Virginia
  • Washington
  • West Virginia
  • Wisconsin
  • Wyoming
  • District of Columbia

How to apply

We don't have application instructions on file yet — head straight to the official source.

Apply on agency site
Tip from our team:

Read the agency's eligibility checklist before you start — it's almost always shorter than the full NOFO and will tell you in 90 seconds whether to keep going.

Need help getting in touch with the right agency contact?

Create a free account and our specialists will guide you through the application end-to-end.

Source documents

View on agency site
Canonical NOFO, application packet, and forms
No supplemental documents yet.

Direct downloads (NOFO PDFs, application forms, FAQs) will appear here once our team attaches them. For now, the agency site has the canonical packet.

Citation details

Source systemusda-rd
Source IDhigh-energy-cost-grants

Frequently asked questions

No FAQs yet.

Have a question about this fund? Sign in to open a ticket about this fund.

Similar grants

Agriculture & Farming
Engineer Research and Development Center

ERDC Broad Agency Announcement

87
match

The Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) is issuing this announcement for various research and development topic areas. The ERDC consists of the Coastal and Hydraulics Labora…

$0–$1,000.0M Jan 1 Nationwide, USA
Healthcare & Biotech
Ohio EPA — H2Ohio Initiative

Water Pollution Control Loan Fund (WPCLF)

60
match

The WPCLF provides financial and technical assistance for various projects to protect or improve the quality of Ohio’s other water resources. WPCLF offers below-market interest rate loans to local governments and most…

Up to $500M Rolling Ohio, USA
Healthcare & Biotech
Department of Transportation

TIGER Grants for Surface Transportation

62
match

The synopsis for this grant opportunity is detailed below, following this paragraph. This grant opportunity is being funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Pub. L. 111-5, 123 Stat.115 (Feb. 17, …

$20M–$300M Rolling Nationwide, USA
Nonprofit & Community
Missouri Office of Broadband Development

Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program

95
match

The Missouri Broadband Deployment (BEAD) Program aids entities to deploy broadband service to unserved and underserved areas of the state, and to Community Anchor Institutions (CAIs) through competitive grants. The BE…

Up to $300M Rolling Missouri, USA
Apply on agency site