Project Leapfrog Fact Sheet
Learn more about how Project Leapfrog will benefit Liberty’s customers in the Tahoe/Sierra region.
Liberty Selected to Receive Up to $13 Million in Federal Funding
The U.S. Department of Energy award will be used to help improve service and reliability throughout the communities Liberty serves
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has selected Liberty Utilities (CalPeco Electric) LLC to receive up to $13 million in funding through the Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) Program from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Grid Deployment Office.
These funds will help improve service and reliability throughout the communities Liberty serves, as well as save Liberty customers money. This GRIP-funded project will also help strengthen the grid against wildfire and extreme weather risks, particularly in some of Liberty’s rural communities, increase local jobs, and create student mentorship opportunities.
Funding of Project Leapfrog is subject to final agreement between Liberty and the U.S. Department of Energy. Liberty’s portion of the project funding will be subject to review and approval by state regulatory commissions.
Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) Program
The GRIP Program seeks to enhance grid flexibility and improve the resilience of the power system against growing threats of extreme weather and climate change. Funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and administered by DOE’s Grid Deployment Office, the GRIP Program leverages federal and private investments to provide communities across the nation a reliable grid prepared for extreme weather, deliver affordable clean energy, and create local opportunities for economic investment and jobs.
Frequently Asked Questions:
What happens next?
The DOE is currently conducting a due diligence review of Liberty’s accounting systems and policies and procedures required to make the project a success. At the end of this project, the two parties will execute a Cooperative Agreement which will signify the formal start of the project. This work can take 4 months or more.
How long will this project take?
As conceived, the project may last five years, with the first year being dedicated to detailed technology features and integration planning, with foundational functionalities being deployed over the next two years, followed by additional modules in the fourth and fifth years.
Is Liberty only going to pursue this project if it gets the DOE grant?
No, the company will pursue the core AMI deployment regardless of the outcome of the DOE application process. However, Liberty is pursuing the DOE grant because it presents an opportunity to reduce the rate impact for its customers and may add more functionalities from the outset.
Will AMI eliminate utility jobs?
Over time, AMI will eliminate certain utility functions like manual meter reading but will require new functions like network management and troubleshooting or remote system analysis. Overall, it is expected to have a neutral impact on the size of Liberty’s labor force.
If the DOE contributes 50%, where would the rest of the funding come from?
Like the rest of its capital program, Liberty would apply to the California Public Utilities Commission for the recovery of the remaining costs, subject to its findings of prudence through a detailed public review of the company’s costs and service delivery outcomes.
How will this benefit my community?
If approved, the project may create additional jobs in construction, warehousing, and supporting industries such as transportation, hospitality, and others. It will give Liberty new tools to deal with outages more quickly and effectively, remotely identify system performance issues, and help identify potential fire threats.
Project Leapfrog: In Brief
- Project Leapfrog seeks to deploy Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) in Liberty’s Tahoe/Sierra service area to drive operating performance, enable conservation opportunities, and help identify outages and other issues more quickly.
- The AMI ecosystem consists of interval meters equipped with edge computing, and remote communication capabilities along with network devices typically deployed on top of distribution poles.
- The project proposal is being submitted to the U.S. Department of Energy’s infrastructure grant program. If selected, the federal government will contribute up to half of the project’s cost.
- The project may create local jobs and additional training for qualified trades, apprentices, and opportunities in other technical, supply chain, and hospitality fields.