Reliable Electric Charging for Eligible School-bus Sites (RECESS)

The California Energy Commission's Clean Transportation Program announces the availability of up to $22,000,000 in grant funds for projects that will install electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure for electric school buses. This is a multi-funding lane grant solicitation combining first come, first served and competitive funding mechanisms with minimum requirements and specific conditions.

Funding Lane 1 (First Come, First Served): $4 million available for electric school bus charging infrastructure projects at local educational agencies that received Clean Truck and Bus Incentive Project (HVIP) Public School Bus Set Aside Year 1 and Year 2 funded electric school buses, but who did not receive the CEC's Energy Infrastructure Incentives for Zero-Emission Commercial Vehicles Project (EnergIIZE) Public School Bus Set Aside Year 1 or Year 2 infrastructure funding. Maximum charging ports that can be requested are specified in Table 4 of the solicitation manual.

Funding Lane 2 (Competitive): $9 million available for electric school bus charging infrastructure projects that will support existing and future electric school bus deployments by local educational agencies as defined in the solicitation manual.

Funding Lane 3 (Competitive): $9 million available for electric school bus charging infrastructure projects that will support existing and future electric school bus deployments by third-party transportation providers who serve local educational agencies.

Key dates include a Pre-Application Workshop on April 16, 2026 from 09:00 AM to 11:00 AM (remote access only), a questions deadline of April 27, 2026 at 5:00 PM, and a submission deadline of June 05, 2026 at 11:59 PM. Applications must be submitted through the Energy Commission Agreement Management System (ECAMS) portal. Required application attachments vary by funding lane and include application forms, project narratives, budget forms, letters of commitment, purchase order letters, evaluation criteria documentation, CEQA worksheets, past performance references, and applicant declarations.