North East Victorian communities are among 28 councils and community groups across the state sharing in close to $900,000 from the third round of AusNet’s Energy Resilience Community Fund.

Projects in the King Valley, Bright, Yackandandah, Beechworth and Mansfield are among those to get a boost towards their future-proofing energy plans.

In the Rural City of Wangaratta, the King Valley United Football Netball Club received $42,870 to install a new solar and battery-powered backup system at Whitfield Recreation Reserve, a designated Neighbourhood Safer Place (Bushfire Place of Last Resort) and Emergency Relief Centre.

Three projects in the Indigo Shire received $75,535 towards their initiatives, two projects in the Alpine Shire received $71,800, and one in the Mansfield Shire received $50,000.

AusNet executive general manager distribution, Andrew Linnie, said the Energy Resilience Community Fund, which provides Energy Resilience and Education and Literacy Grants, supports projects that will help build long-term community energy resilience and provide support to communities during severe weather events.

He said AusNet was actively investing in their network to improve reliability and resilience, particularly when severe weather or other emergencies happen.

"Through these grants, we’re contributing to the creation of energy resilience hubs and infrastructure that help communities access vital services and facilities and stay connected and safe during prolonged outages and emergencies,” he said.

AusNet established the $12 million Energy Resilience Community Fund following the storms in February last year, to support energy resilience and literacy projects across AusNet’s electricity distribution network in eastern and north-eastern Victoria, and Melbourne’s north and east.