Highlights from Draft FOA Relating to Regional Demonstrations

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Objective	To support regionally unique demonstration projects to: ·         Quantify Smart Grid costs, benefits and cost-effectiveness ·          Verify Smart Grid technology viability ·         Validate new Smart Grid business models at a scale that can be readily adapted and replicated around the country.
Technologies of interest	Advanced digital technologies for use in planning and operations of the electric power system and the electricity markets, such as: ·         Microprocessor-based measurement and control ·         Communications ·         Computing ·         Information
Utility partnerships	These projects should be carried out in collaboration with the electric utility that owns the grid facilities in electricity control areas, or the electric utility that is a rural cooperative or publicly owned. The electric utility may be either the proposing applicant or a team member.
Preferred project teams	DOE strongly encourages an integrated team approach that includes: ·         Members of utilities ·         Product and service suppliers ·         End users ·         State and municipal governments ·         Independent System Operators (ISOs) or Regional Transmission Operators (RTOs) ·         The financial community
Regional demonstration subareas	1.     Investor-owned utilities. Applications are sought targeting Smart Grid applications within the eight North American Reliability Council (NERC) regional entities, including AK and HI. These projects should include one or more Investor-Owned Utilities (IOU) as the prime or team member. 2.     Publicly owned utilities. Applications are sought broadly targeting Smart Grid applications in one or more publicly owned utilities such as electric cooperatives and municipal utility operations.
Estimated number of projects	·         6 to 8 with investor-owned utilities ·         2 to 4 with publicly owned utilities
Estimated award size	·         Maximum cap is $100 million