NASEO News Release
For more
information contact:
Cary Brazeman, 310-205-3590
cary@thecorporatestoryteller.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — September 21, 2010
NASEO
Statement In Response to DOE Inspector
General Report: ARRA State Energy
Program Spending is On Track, Delivering
on the Promise of the American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act
ALEXANDRIA, VA (September 21, 2010) —
Today the National Association of State
Energy Officials, which represents
governor-designated energy leaders from
the 56 state and territory energy
offices, issued this statement in
response to a U.S. Department of Energy
(DOE) Inspector General report that
addresses U.S. State Energy Program
spending under the federal stimulus:
The DOE Office of the Inspector
General (IG) today released a report on
various aspects of energy funding under
the American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act of 2009 (ARRA). Among other
things, the report assessed the pace of
ARRA State Energy Program spending.
The State Energy Program, established
30 years ago, focuses on energy
efficiency and renewable energy projects
that address each state’s unique energy
priorities and opportunities. The
program is federally funded and
supplemented by substantial cost-share
from the states. Under ARRA, the
program was funded at $3.1 billion, with
states providing an additional $4.7
billion in cost-share, or leverage, from
state sources and private-sector
partners. In other words, each
dollar of federal ARRA SEP funding has
been matched with $1.52 of state and
private funds, for a total program
impact of $8.8 billion.
State energy officials across the
country are leading efforts to transform
America’s energy future through
sustainable, clean, renewable American
energy. States are making historic
investments in energy efficiency and
renewable energy in order to advance our
energy future by:
- Saving consumers and
businesses money
- Reducing energy
costs and consumption
- Reducing reliance on
foreign energy
- Improving the
reliability of
electricity and fuel
supplies
- Reducing the impacts
of energy production and
use on the environment
Since passage of the Recovery Act,
the states have worked very closely with
the U.S. Department of Energy to ensure
that the aggressive goals of the
stimulus were met. As of last
week, DOE had completed project
approvals for 88 percent, or $2.7
billion of the $3.1 billion, of program
funding. In turn, states have
obligated 77 percent of the amount
approved by DOE, with additional funds
being committed each day.
In fact, according to the most recent
data from the Department of Energy, the
actual federal spending is accelerating
as states get projects completed and the
results meet expectations. In the most
recent month (the month ending September
13, 2010), more than $153 million was
costed at the federal level. DOE and
NASEO anticipated this level of
accelerated spending.
Additionally, it should be noted, the
IG report out today:
- Does not suggest any
waste, fraud or abuse
relative to the program.
- Does not question
the efficacy of the
program, including its
cost-effectiveness,
which is well
established.
Rather, the IG report focuses on the
pace of federal spending of the $3.1
billion, more specifically on “federal
dollars spent.” This is a
seriously flawed metric.
Most ARRA State Energy Program
dollars have been obligated to specific
projects; these projects were
competitively selected through
state-operated procurement actions.
Through this process, work is undertaken
and jobs created well before payment
checks are cut. In fact, work on
energy projects funded with federal or
state funds must be satisfactorily
completed before final checks are cut.
Thus, spending (“dollars spent,” as the
IG report calls it) significantly lags
actual work including jobs created.
The White House itself appreciates
the difference between federal dollars
obligated and final checks cut. A
White House economic adviser was quoted
on CBS News on August 16 as saying:
“It’s just as if you were to hire a
contractor to work on your home.
You don’t give them that final check
until they’re done,” said White House
economic adviser Jared Bernstein.
“I don’t think the American taxpayer
would want it any other way.”
The irony of the analysis in the IG
report is that state energy spending
plans under ARRA were designed to be
three-year plans, balancing rapid job
creation with the need to create
self-sustaining programs such as
revolving loan funds that would live on
long after the stimulus.
Initially, spending was supposed to be
completed by April 2012. Also,
notably, many federal requirements for
SEP spending, including under the
National Environmental Policy Act and
the Davis-Bacon Act, were not specified
until December 2009 — fully 10 months
after ARRA was enacted.
For more information on programs and
progress resulting from ARRA State
Energy Program spending, visit
http://www.naseo.org/success/index.html,
or contact your state energy office
directly. A complete list of state
energy office websites is available at
http://www.naseo.org/members/states/.
About NASEO and the State Energy
Program
Members of the National Association
of State Energy Officials lead America’s
state and territory energy offices,
which build on the unique resources of
their states to advance key energy
goals, including:
- Improving energy
efficiency in homes,
commercial buildings,
industry and agriculture
- Opening markets for
renewable energy, such
as solar, wind,
geothermal and biofuels
- Promoting sound
residential, commercial
and institutional energy
building codes
- Transforming
transportation by
advancing biofuels,
plug-in hybrids and
other alternatives
- Delivering
cost-effective and
verifiable greenhouse
gas emissions savings
- Developing and
testing creative clean
energy financing
mechanisms (such as
revolving loan funds),
policies and market
transformation programs
- Enhancing energy
assurance and energy
emergency preparedness
Public and private-sector energy
organizations are welcome to join NASEO
as affiliate members. For more
information, visit
www.NASEO.org
### |
