IIJA Grant Awards

Utility grant expertise unlocks $600+ million for funding key infrastructure initiatives

What does it take to win IIJA funding for your critical infrastructure initiative?

In short, experience. We’ve applied our experience to help more than a dozen utilities and other organizations secure $600 million—to date—in federal funding to advance grid resilience, broadband, hydrogen, and other initiatives.

100%

of 19 West Monroe-authored concept papers passed DoE review compared to industry average of 50-65%, creating competitive advantage in the grant process

3-5 years

faster time to impact for projects due to successful applications for federal funding

$600+ million

in federal funds awarded, lowering implementation costs and reducing customer and ratepayer impacts

The Challenge

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) proposes a historic $1.2 trillion in spending—including $550 million in new funds over five years to strengthen the nation's infrastructure through grid resilience and innovation, broadband, clean energy, and other programs.

With stiff competition for funding and high standards for demonstrating tangible benefits, there’s a real art to crafting a successful grant application. That’s why more than a dozen utilities and other organizations turned to West Monroe.

Project Timeline

Weeks

Identify and prioritize viable grid modernization projects

Weeks

Develop a concept paper, once a funding opportunity announcement (FOA) is issued

~10

weeks

Lead grant application development and submission

months

Support pre-award negotiation with the Department of Energy and provide post-award compliance assistance

An Undeniably Different Approach

We aren’t just grant writers. We’re utility technologists and strategists who understand the industry and approach each opportunity from a big-picture perspective and with a commitment to creating financial value.

A flexible approach enabled us to support diverse utility and private sector organizations—including investor-owned and municipal utilities across the country, a midstream gas company, a global water treatment and waste management conglomerate, an energy transmission/distribution company, an energy storage start-up, and a Fortune 500 travel services company.

We came prepared each time with:

A deep understanding of application requirements and evaluation criteria
Experience building cohesive grant applications and our perspectives from previous submissions
Proprietary tools and templates, market intelligence, and industry benchmarking
Playbook of equity metrics, stakeholder engagement strategies, and community benefit plans to improve funding prospects

These comprehensive capabilities meant we were there for our clients every step of way—from project ideation, to concept papers and grant writing/submission, to award negotiation and reporting compliance. We’ve collaborated with these clients since 2022 to explore hundreds of possibilities—then delivered 19 concept papers and 25+ full grant applications targeting $1.5+ billion for 10 different funding areas.

Real Results

The DOE encouraged all of the 19 West Monroe-authored concept papers to proceed with minimal or no feedback—compared to a 50-65% national average—creating competitive advantage for our clients.

Collectively, our clients have received more than $600 million in funding. These awards directly reduce implementation costs—lowering customer/ratepayer impacts. They also enable faster impact, accelerating projects by an average of five years.

Our work helped:

A Northwest utility secure $307 million for multiple programs
A midstream gas company secure its spot in a regional clean hydrogen hub consortium
A Midwest utility win $15 million for broadband initiatives
A municipal utility secure $1.1 million for DERMS deployment

These programs won’t just advance utility goals. They’ll benefit multiple stakeholders—delivering new levels of reliability, clean energy, and energy equity.