Grid Deployment Office’s Implementation of the Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships Program
May 19, 2025
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May 14, 2025
Grid Deployment Office's Implementation of the Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships Program
The Department of Energy’s Grid Deployment Office (GDO) is responsible for administering $10.5 billion in Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funds through the Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) Program. GRIP’s three focus areas include: (1) grants to mitigate storm and natural disaster damage to the grid; (2) grants to increase transmission capacity and to integrate renewable energy sources and other grid-edge devices; and (3) cooperative agreements to support projects enhancing grid resiliency and reliability. We initiated this inspection to determine whether GDO had adequate internal controls and resources to implement the GRIP Program.
We found that GDO did not have adequate internal controls and may not have adequate staff resources to implement the GRIP Program. Specifically, GDO did not develop and document an effective internal controls system, including the control environment and risk assessment, as required. Further, GDO may not have sufficient staff to oversee the Federal activities that support the GRIP Program.
The issues we identified occurred in part because GDO: (1) followed a phased implementation approach for internal controls; and (2) did not distinguish between program-level and project-specific responsibilities.
Without a robust internal controls system, GDO may not identify risks that could negatively impact the GRIP program’s outcomes. These impacts could include improperly reimbursed costs, fraud, waste, and undisclosed conflicts of interest. Additionally, GDO may have difficulty identifying and addressing program performance issues—including the performance of organizations, such as the National Energy Technology Laboratory, which GDO depends upon for ensuring GRIP Program success.
To address the issues identified in this report, we made two recommendations that, if fully executed, should help ensure that GDO’s internal controls and resources are adequate for implementing the GRIP Program.