Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has announced that the state Bond Commission Friday approved $5.1 million for the creation of two microgrid projects in Bridgeport and Milford that will help keep critical buildings and facilities powered even when the electric grid goes down.

In July 2013, nine microgrid projects in Bridgeport, Fairfield, Groton, Hartford, Middletown, Storrs, Windham and Woodbridge were awarded $18 million as part of the first round of grants under DEEP's Microgrid Program. One of those nine projects at Wesleyan University in Middletown is operational. The remaining projects are in various stages of development.

Each microgrid project is designed to provide power for government services and businesses that are critical during extreme weather events, such as police, fire, emergency response teams, shelters, dining facilities, state and town emergency response centers, grocery stores, and gas stations.

Microgrids provide electricity to critical facilities and town centers on a 24/7 daily basis and include a system to isolate the microgrid so it can provide power even when there is a large-scale outage.