Cybersecurity, Energy Security & Emergency Response (CESER)
Active
- Assistance listing
- 81.008
- Agency
-
Department of Energy
- Grant awards
- 95 $251,776,982 in federal obligations
Program facts
- Assistance types
-
- Cooperative Agreement
- Project Grant
- Treasury account
-
- 89-2250-0-1-999
- More information
Program details come from SAM.gov Assistance Listings. Updated . Grant award figures come from USAspending.gov.
About this program
The Department of Energy Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response is funding research, development, and demonstration of cybersecurity and resilience tools for U.S. energy infrastructure under CFDA 81.008, with most recent awards disbursed in September 2026.
This program funds development and deployment of next-generation tools and technologies addressing cybersecurity threats, physical security, electromagnetic pulse, geomagnetic disturbances, and natural hazards to energy infrastructure. Recent awards span cyber-physical resilience platforms, zero-trust architectures for operational technology systems, anomaly detection frameworks, industrial control system security, distributed energy resource protection, grid visualization and threat management systems, wildfire forecasting for electrical assets, substation physical security enhancements, and direct utility investments in cybersecurity infrastructure improvements. Award recipients include universities establishing regional cybersecurity centers, electric cooperatives and municipal utilities implementing system hardening, and technology development firms.
The program is highly active: 28 awards were disbursed in 2026 year-to-date (through September), 12 in 2025, and 31 in 2024. Combined federal dollars obligated total $251.8 million across 95 awards since 2019. Recipients contributed an additional $73 million in non-federal matching funds, bringing total project value to $324.8 million.
Funding is concentrated almost entirely within the Department of Energy Office of Cyber Security, which issued 93 awards for $230.8 million (92% of federal dollars). The remaining awards came from the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy ($20 million) and the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability ($996 thousand).
The portfolio is predominantly Cooperative Agreements (96% of awards), with a small number of Project Grants (4%). Recent awards range from under $700 thousand to $5.6 million. Representative recent awards include a cooperative agreement to North Carolina Electric Membership Corporation for statewide utility cybersecurity support ($5.58 million, September 2026), Dairyland Power Cooperative for member cybersecurity enhancement ($4.68 million, July 2026), a digital anomaly detection framework development ($3.5 million, October 2025), and zero-trust architecture development for distributed energy resources ($4.8 million, October 2024).
The Department of Energy National Energy Technology Lab posted DE-FOA-0003501, "Next Generation of Academia-Based Cyber Research, Development, and Demonstration (RD & D)," on December 19, 2024, with an application due date of February 18, 2025. This university-focused program supports five-year R&D efforts to develop and integrate cybersecurity tools into energy infrastructure. A prior opportunity, DE-FOA-0003217 for "All Hazards Energy Resilience," closed March 4, 2024, and funded tools addressing cybersecurity, physical security, and climate effects on energy delivery.
Objective and description
- Objective
The Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER) enhances the security and resilience of U.S. critical energy infrastructure from all hazards, mitigate the impacts of disruptive events and risk to the sector overall. CESE
- Description
The Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER) enhances the security and resilience of U.S. critical energy infrastructure from all hazards, mitigate the impacts of disruptive events and risk to the sector overall. CESER's Risk Management Tools and Technologies (RMT) division is responsible for research, development, and demonstration (RD & D) of new tools and technologies that address risks to U.S. energy infrastructure. These tools and technologies address risks from cybersecurity and physical threats, electromagnetic pulse (EMP), geomagnetic disturbances (GMD), and natural hazards such as wildfires, hurricanes, and flooding. The intended outcome of CESER RMT projects is next generation tools and technologies that provide energy sector protection, monitoring, detection, response, containment, and recovery capabilities. These efforts are primarily executed through competitive solicitations.
Eligibility
- Applicant eligibility
All types of domestic entities are eligible to apply, such as profit organizations, private nonprofit institutions/organizations, universities, research organizations, and state and local governments. All information regarding eligibility requirements will be included in the specific notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) announcement.
- Uses of assistance
An assistance award will be used when it is determined to be the best method for addressing the program mission. Discretionary funds may be available for assistance for this planning year.
- Length and time phasing of assistance
The time period is dependent upon the notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) requirements and the individual project award method of awarding/releasing assistance: grants vs. cooperative agreements.
How to apply
- Preapplication coordination
Pre-application coordination is not applicable. Environmental impact information is not required for this program. This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372.
- Criteria for selecting proposals
Selection is based on a comprehensive merit review, program policy factors, the availability of funds, provisions of appropriation law and reports and as otherwise specified in specific solicitation document(s)
- Award procedure
All applications which pass an initial review will receive an objective merit review. The objective merit review will be based on evaluation criteria set forth in the competitive solicitation(s) or criteria set forth in 2 CFR Part 200 for Unsolicited Proposals. Evaluations will be conducted by the Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security and Emergency Response (CESER) at DOE Headquarters in Washington, DC. This responsibility may also be delegated to DOE Operations Offices and technical experts. Final decisions will be made by the Director, CESER.
- Time to approval or disapproval
60-120 days
- Renewals
financial assistance awards may be modified or extended in accordance with 2 CFR 200 and the award terms of the agreement
- Appeals
Unsuccessful applicants are entitled to a written debriefing. This is typically done as a document containing the "Strengths and Weaknesses", grouped by the evaluation criteria, of the application.
Grant opportunities
Grant awards
Latest 10 of 95 listed here. See the rest on GovTribe.
Top recipients by federal obligations
| Rank | Recipient | Federal obligations | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nreca Research | $28,992,564 | 12% |
| 2 | The American Public Power Association | $28,730,520 | 11% |
| 3 | Electric Power Research Institute Inc. | $23,930,465 | 10% |
| 4 | GE Vernova Operations LLC | $13,302,524 | 5% |
| 5 | Auburn University | $10,000,000 | 4% |
| 6 | New York University | $8,778,193 | 3% |
| 7 | Iowa State University Of Science And Technology | $8,059,003 | 3% |
| 8 | Georgia TECH Research Corp | $7,971,284 | 3% |
| 9 | Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station | $6,561,358 | 3% |
| 10 | National Association Of Regulatory Utility Commissioners | $5,950,000 | 2% |
10 of 65 recipients listed here. See the rest on GovTribe.
Federal obligations by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Federal obligations |
|---|---|
| FY2026 | $54,472,722 |
| FY2025 | $35,078,707 |
| FY2024 | $94,062,244 |
| FY2023 | $20,186,724 |
| FY2022 | $34,651,975 |
| FY2021 | $4,394,740 |
| FY2020 | $6,919,870 |
| FY2019 | $2,010,000 |
Quick answers
What is Assistance Listing 81.008?
Assistance Listing 81.008 is Cybersecurity, Energy Security & Emergency Response (CESER), a federal grant program run by Department of Energy.
What is the CFDA number for Cybersecurity, Energy Security & Emergency Response (CESER)?
Its CFDA number is 81.008: Assistance Listing numbers were called CFDA numbers before 2018.
How much funding has Assistance Listing 81.008 awarded?
95 grant awards under 81.008 have obligated $251,776,982 in federal funds to 65 recipients.
Who receives the most funding from 81.008?
The recipients obligated the most under Cybersecurity, Energy Security & Emergency Response (CESER) are Nreca Research ($28,992,564), The American Public Power Association ($28,730,520) and Electric Power Research Institute Inc. ($23,930,465).
How much did 81.008 obligate in fiscal year 2025?
Grants under 81.008 obligated $35,078,707 in federal funds in fiscal year 2025.
Are there open grant opportunities under 81.008?
No opportunity listed under 81.008 is open now. The latest, Next Generation of Academia-Based Cyber Research, Development, and Demonstration (RD & D), was posted on December 19, 2024.
On GovTribe
See this program's full record
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