July 20, 2012

The Department of Energy's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act – Missouri State Energy Program

The Department of Energy's (Department) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) provides grants to states, territories and the District of Columbia (states) to support their energy priorities through the State Energy Program (SEP).  In April 2009, EERE granted a $57.4 million award to the State of Missouri for its American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) SEP.  Under the terms of the award, the funds were to be expended by March 31, 2012.  In short, we found Missouri had developed a comprehensive SEP program and internal control structure designed to meet Recovery Act objectives.  Consistent with a number of other jurisdictions, however, Missouri encountered a number of challenges that initially delayed progress of its SEP projects.  In particular, the State encountered delays in establishing contracts, hiring needed staff and in establishing its agriculture loan program.  These initial delays impacted the timely infusion of funds into the economy and affected overall grant performance.  Because of the delays in administering its grant, the Department ultimately gave Missouri an additional 9 months to spend its funds.  Given Missouri's progress at the time of our review, it appeared that the State was on-track to meet the Department's new, extended deadline.  Because of actions taken by the Department and Missouri to address the issues discovered, no formal recommendations were made.

Topic: Financial Assistance