Inspection: DOE-OIG-25-35

September 30, 2025

The Grid Deployment Office’s Implementation of the Puerto Rico Energy Resilience Fund Program

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, authorized $1 billion in appropriations for the purchase and installation of renewable energy, energy storage, and other grid technologies. The Department of Energy’s Grid Deployment Office (GDO) will administer the $1 billion through the Puerto Rico Energy Resilience Fund (PR-ERF) Program, which focuses on energy resilience investments to grow Puerto Rico’s clean energy economy, while pursuing the goal to meet 100 percent of its electricity needs with renewable energy by 2050. We initiated this inspection to determine the GDO’s readiness to implement the PR-ERF Program.

We found that the GDO was not fully prepared to implement the PR ERF Program, as it had not developed the requisite oversight tools and resources to conduct separate and appropriate oversight to ensure that it will meet its intended goals and objectives. We identified six areas related to the GDO’s implementation of the PR-ERF Program where additional oversight and resources are needed.

The lack of preparedness and planned oversight occurred due to the GDO’s reliance on other entities. Specifically, while the GDO delegated management and execution duties to other entities, it did not assess the readiness and ability of these entities to oversee the PR-ERF Program, nor prepare a plan to oversee the work performed by these entities.

The GDO’s ability to achieve PR-ERF Program objectives is vulnerable without the establishment of independent, robust oversight, and resources.

To address the issues identified in this report, we have made one recommendation that, if fully implemented, should help ensure that the GDO’s oversight tools and resources are adequate for the PR-ERF Program.