Dyson College of Arts and Sciences

37 IV. Emergence of Resiliency as a Policy Priority Following a series of devastating storms in 2011 and 2012, 13 critical infrastructure resiliency emerged as a top policy priority in several Northeast States. In July 2012, Connecticut established the fi rst in nation Microgrid Pilot Program. This was a measure arising from the Two Storm Panel Final Report to Governor Malloy. The Report recommended the consideration of Microgrids as a potential method for mitigation of impacts to infrastructure. 14 Connecticut Public Act 12-148 Section 7, directed The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to establish a microgrid grant and loan pilot program to support local distributed energy generation for critical facilities. CT DEEP initiated the program with a Request for Information on August 30, 2012. A two phase RFP process was conducted; the fi rst to determine project feasibility and the eligible pool, and a second phase RPF to assess qualifying projects from Round 1 and to determine winning bids. Phase 1 was initiated in 2012 and the Phase 2 RFP was let in April 2013. Governor Malloy announced the recipients of the fi rst-in-the nation state microgrid pilot on July 24, 2013. Nine projects were awarded a total of $18 million in funding. At the request of Governor Malloy, the Microgrid Pilot Program was continued into 2014 and beyond. Connecticut Public Act 13-298 (an Act Concerning Implementation of Connecticut's Comprehensive Energy Strategy) authorized an additional $30 million in funding for the Microgrid Program. In August 2014 Microgrid Grant Program Round Two Proposals were submitted to CT DEEP. In October 2014, the city of Bridgeport and city of Hamden were awarded a total of $5.1 million to construct microgrids. When Superstorm Sandy hit October 29, 2012, Connecticut was the only state in the nation that had authorized expenditures on a program specifi cally tailored to support distributed generation and microgrids as an innovative measure to keep critical buildings powered during grid outages. The Microgrid Pilot Program will increase safety and quality of life for Connecticut residents during power outages. Microgrids will provide electricity to critical facilities and town centers on a 24/7 basis and will include an isolation system so the microgrid can provide power despite any large-scale outages. Figure 2. Critical facilities as defi ned for CT's Microgrid Pilot • Hospital • Police station • Fire station • Water treatment plant • Sewage treatment plant • Public Shelter • Correctional Facility • Municipal Center • Telecommunications equipment • Gas station • Pharmacy • Grocery store

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