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NASEO News
March
4, 2010
NASEO Testifies on State ARRA Activities Before
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
 The U.S. Senate Energy and Natural
Resources Committee took testimony
Thursday on activities surrounding the
implementation of the Department of
Energy American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act programs. Testimony
focused on implementation of the State
Energy Program (SEP), the Energy
Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant
(EECBG), the Weatherization Assistance
Program (WAP) and the Energy Star
Appliance Rebate Program.
Panelists included Malcolm Woolf,
National Association of State Energy
Officials, Matthew Rogers, US Department
of Energy, Patricia Dalton, General
Accounting Office, and Michele
Nellenback, National Governors
Association.
Woolf, who is also the Director of the
Maryland Energy Administration,
described the current status of ARRA
implementation at the state level as a
success.
“Clean energy investments are being made
in every state that are creating jobs,
reducing household bills and promoting
renewable power sources to accelerate
our energy independence,” Woolf told
members of the Senate committee.
Woolf said the full story of these
successes is not being reflected in the
data being collected by the federal
government which is subsequently
reported in the media.
“In the case of SEP and EECBG, the
present reporting mechanisms under ARRA
do not reflect the whole picture,” Woolf
said. “With respect to SEP, our recent
survey from last week indicates that
well over one-half, more than $1.8
billion of the SEP funds are committed
and approximately $777 million is
actually under contract.”
This is an important distinction because
reports focus on spending and as such
do not accurately reflect the impact
these effort are having on the economy.
For illustrative purposes, Woolf stated
that a vast majority of the states
utilize private sector companies to
conduct the energy efficiency activities
and as such payments are not generally
made up-front in order to protect the
public against waste, fraud and abuse.
“In the case of an energy service
company that has received a contract to
undertake energy efficiency upgrades in
a school building, the contract
generally provides that payments are not
made until the work is actually
completed or milestones under the
contract are satisfied,” he said. “In
general, the ESCO begins hiring upon
contract execution and conducts the
work. The economy is directly and
indirectly impacted. However, the
spending or “costing” (in federal
parlance) does not occur until the work
is completed, the state is satisfied
that the work is done properly and then
the payment is made.”
In conclusion, Woolf told Senators that
the ARRA funds are being put to use
across the country to transform energy
markets and produce long-term,
sustainable jobs.
“It is critical to plan our programs so
that projects are conducted over time
rather than over one to three months,”
he added. “This will help more
effectively train workers, allow the
demand to increase and allow a “green”
workforce to develop.”Testimony
Reports
Archived Web Cast
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