The Rural and Municipal Utility Cybersecurity (RMUC) Program is a new program established by the historic Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also commonly known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).  Section 40124 of the IIJA authorizes $250 million over a 5-year period to create the RMUC Program to help electric cooperative, municipal, and small investor-owned utilities protect against, detect, respond to, and recover from cybersecurity threats, and to increase their participation in cybersecurity threat information sharing programs. 

Administered by the Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER), the RMUC Program will support critical investments to harden utility systems, deliver crucial technical assistance, and provide cybersecurity training to the utility workforce. These investments will result in a more secure and resilient energy grid that is better prepared to match the challenging cybersecurity threats facing electric utilities.

RMUC Program Advanced Cybersecurity Technology (ACT) Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA)

On November 16, 2023, CESER released a $70 million funding opportunity to enhance the cybersecurity posture of electric cooperative, municipal, and small investor-owned utilities. This critical funding—made possible by the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law—will help build a more secure and resilient energy grid that is better prepared to meet the cybersecurity threats facing electric utilities.

The RMUC Program’s Advanced Cybersecurity Technology (ACT) Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) anticipates funding up to 10 projects in each of the following three topic areas:  

  • Direct support for eligible utilities to make investments in cybersecurity technologies, tools, training, and improvements in utility processes and procedures;
  • Funding to strengthen the peer-to-peer and not-for-profit cybersecurity technical assistance ecosystem currently serving eligible electric utilities; and
  • Increasing access to cybersecurity technical assistance and training for eligible utilities with limited cybersecurity resources.

CESER may issue one, multiple, or no awards. The estimated period of performance for each award will be approximately 24-48 months.

An RMUC FOA Informational Webinar was held on Tuesday, December 19, 2023. The webinar provided an overview of what will be required of applicants for the pre-application phase of FOA 2986.

Cybersecurity Training for the Utility Workforce

Registration is now open for free Cybersecurity Training!

CESER is providing six 3-day cybersecurity training opportunities for technical practitioners working in an electric, oil, or natural gas utility. The training will focus on industrial control systems (ICS) and operational technology (OT) cybersecurity and will include lectures and hands on exercises and challenges. Registration for these training events is free and open to electric utility, and oil and natural gas utility staff. 

Participants can earn up to 18.5 CPE credit hours depending on which classes they take. This training series is funded by the BIL. The dates and locations for the six trainings are:

  • October 31-November 2, 2023, in Columbus, OH (Completed)
  • November 28-30, 2023, in Orlando, FL (Completed)
  • December 5-7, 2023, in Kansas City, MO (Completed)
  • January 17-19, 2024, in San Diego, CA (Completed)
  • January 23-25, 2024, in Dallas, TX (Completed)
  • April 23-25, 2024, in Buffalo, NY (Register Here)

For information on the instructors and to register see https://www.eventleaf.com/c/CybersecurityTrainingUtilityWorkforce.

Cybersecurity Training Agenda

For more information about this Cybersecurity Trainings series, please click visit Cybersecurity Training for the Utility Workforce | Department of Energy.

Sign Up for Updates

To receive the latest news and updates about the RMUC Program, please send an email to CESER.RMUC@hq.doe.gov to be added to the RMUC Program distribution list.

RMUC Program Advanced Cybersecurity Technology (ACT) 1 Prize – Submission Deadline Closed on November 29, 2023, at 5:00 pm ET.

Utilities that have sent in submissions have a chance to win $200,000 each in cash prizes and cybersecurity technical assistance in this competition.  A total of $7.25 million in cash prizes and $1.71 million in cybersecurity technical assistance will be awarded. For more information about the ACT 1 Prize, please visit the ACT 1 Prize program page on the American-Made Challenges website For general information about the RMUC Program’s ACT Prize series, see the RMUC Program Prize Series page.

RMUC News

RMUC Launch

The RMUC Program launch was held on August 18, 2022. Below is a video and copies of the transcript and slides that were presented.

Video Url
RMUC Listening Session 1
Video Courtesy of the Department of Energy