Connecting the Dots: IIJA Funding, Itron Solutions and You

The passing of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) marks a monumental step toward revitalizing America’s energy infrastructure and preparing for the challenges ahead. However, many utility executives have expressed that the lack of clarity around the application process, eligibility requirements, spending deadlines and more are getting in the way of this historic opportunity. At Itron, we are proud to be a trusted partner to cities and utilities across the globe and can help you make the most of the IIJA. 

Signed into law in November 2021, the legislation has awarded nearly $185 billion to over 6,900 energy programs spread across a dozen federal agencies, with funding continuing to be awarded today. In fact, approximately 85.5% of funding is still available. This comes as no surprise after the research we conducted with U.S. utility executives in October 2022 to get a snapshot of overall awareness, interest and intent to pursue IIJA funding. The main takeaway from this research stood out loud and clear: the process of securing funding and applying it to existing projects is complicated, and many utilities are struggling to connect the dots. 

We want cities and utilities to know – we hear you. And we have the leadership, vision and portfolio to help you take advantage of IIJA funding as it relates to your utility’s needs, existing efforts and goals for the future. With an 83% success rate for letter submission approvals compared to the 50% average, Itron can help your utility secure funding and design a roadmap with IIJA-eligible solutions to meet your community’s needs. Our team can support with strategic consulting, solution mapping, proposal writing and review, internal approvals, messaging and positioning with the Department of Energy. 

IIJA in Action with Itron Solutions 

Picture this: an electric utility wants to implement a distributed energy resource management system (DERMS) by utilizing the DOE’s Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) program. This would allow the utility to optimize the benefits of distributed energy resources while maintaining power quality and ensuring adequate distribution capacity across the grid. The utility could also consider partnering with a local disadvantaged community school district in electrification of the school and apply for the Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) Program as a demonstration project in proving new emerging benefits. Building a Smart Grid is the common theme between the two grant applications, as well as building value in resiliency by managing and monitoring the impact on the transformer and evolving the use case to charge during opportune times to store renewables and a future distributed energy resource (DER) asset. The local school district has an added opportunity to apply for the EPA’s Clean School Bus Program to electrify its school buses. This is a great way to enhance the collaboration between the utility and surrounding community.  

With the utility leading one project and the school district leading the other, the entities join forces and engage Itron to provide strategic consulting, solution mapping, messaging and positioning with the DOE, technology partners as well as grant templates and grant writing where required. This collaboration would not only increase operational resiliency and efficiency but would also ensure the total cost of operations is optimized for all project stakeholders and opens the door to additional use cases in the future. It’s a win-win for everyone as this can increase multiple use of an asset that transports our new generation and can supply clean energy to the community in time of need. 

An IIJA Roadmap to Itron Solutions 

A full breakdown of Itron’s solutions across electricity, water and smart city industries that are compatible with IIJA funding requirements are outlined above, as well as the benefits utilities and cities can expect to experience after implementation.  

As the Biden Administration continues to release new information and issue funding opportunity announcements, Itron is here to help and will continue to provide updates and webinars as we learn more and how to make the most of it. We are grateful to be your trusted partner on this journey and look forward to helping more utilities and cities make the most of this historic investment in a more resourceful world.