March 25, 2010

Management Controls over the Department's WinSAGA System for Energy Grants Management Under the Recovery Act

As a result of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act), the Department of Energy (Department) received $8.1 billion for formula grant programs supporting housing weatherization and energy efficiency. This amount is significantly larger than the approximately $300 million historically received each year for such purposes. To help control performance, the Department established an incremental approach to awarding funding to states, releasing funds based on performance. To aid in making incremental funding decisions, the Department intends to track recipients' performance through the Windows System Approach to Grants Administration (WinSAGA). WinSAGA, a custom designed information system, is utilized by the Department and more than 70 state-level program offices to collect, organize, distribute, and report a wide array of information relating to the energy formula grant programs. According to WinSAGA security documentation, the system and the information it houses requires enhanced protection measures to help ensure, among other things, that confidentiality is properly maintained. WinSAGA is now being utilized by the Department to manage grants and fulfill certain Recovery Act reporting requirements. In addition, WinSAGA is used by state-level program offices and the Department to apply for and manage the grants awarded under the Recovery Act for the State Energy and Weatherization Assistance Programs. Because of WinSAGA's role in reporting on and managing Recovery Act related awards, we initiated this audit to determine whether current system resources and controls were adequate.

Topic: National Security & Safety