Enigin Update - A Third of U.S. Stimulus Funds for Energy Efficiency got Unspent
ALMOST one-third of stimulus money to be used for energy efficiency programmes has not been spent, according to a report from the U.S. Energy Department’s inspector general.
Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Programme received $3.2 billion to improve energy efficiency and reduce energy use and fossil fuel emission.
EECBG agreements have a maximum performance period of 36 months and, in support of the Recovery Act's goal of immediate investment in the economy, the Department required grant recipients to obligate all funds within 18 months of the grant award date.
But state and local governments have left as much $879 million unspent from a $2.7 billion programme intended to boost energy efficiency and create jobs. Another $500 million had been committed by state and local governments but again had not been spent, the report said.
The internal audit also revealed a number of apparent inaccuracies in data that Department officials used to monitor grantee obligations and spending.
The Inspector General, Gregory Friedman, said in the report: "Ultimately if recipients fail to utilise their Recovery Act" funding, the Energy Department should terminate the grants and return the money to the U.S. Treasury.”
The Associated Press (AP) report that the U.S. Energy Department acknowledged a slow start, but said aggressive outreach to state and local governments has boosted spending from $270 million last year to about $1.4 billion as of last month. The programme has also helped pay for more than 5,400 jobs.
Spokesman for Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Damien LaVera, is report by AP as saying the department is committed to ensuring that energy efficiency and conservation block grants are spent quickly, responsibly and in concurrence with local laws and regulations.
Recipients spent more than $170 million in June, the highest one-month total in the program's history, LaVera said.
Enigin Distributors across the United States have the energy efficiency technology and solutions from Enigin that offer the ideal investment for energy efficiency stimulus money - providing substantial energy and financial savings to many businesses and organisations, protecting profits and jobs, meaning that unspent money can be called upon to protect the future of companies and communities.
Picture of James A. Forrestal Department of Energy Building by Cliff1066 reproduced under CCL.
