ScottMadden Assists Smart Grid Grant Recipients

ScottMadden, Inc. - 08.24.2010

ScottMadden - a leading North American energy consulting firm - is supporting clients who are currently receiving Smart Grid Investment Grant (SGIG) cash from the Department of Energy (DOE), a time when 70% of SGIG awardees have yet to receive any money. Why are so few SGIG winners receiving funds?

As of August 1, 2010, the DOE had begun paying 32 of 107 SGIG awardees; 75, or 70% of the awardees, had not received any DOE money, and only 4% the $3.5 billion awarded had been paid out.

Jere (“Jake”) Jacobi, a ScottMadden partner and sustainability practice leader, explains, “Awardees want to be very careful to comply fully with the requirements that the DOE and the Office of Management and Budgets (OMB) have established. This is a challenging and complex task.”

Despite the challenges, ScottMadden clients are among those invoicing the DOE and receiving money. We are assisting these clients with a proactive, thorough, and proven approach. We help them navigate the DOE waters, waters that are uncharted for many awardees.

What does it take to get the money?

Awardees must identify, understand, and fulfill many requirements. For example, DOE reporting requirements include a government-grade earned value management program to track and report project cost and schedule progress and a detailed project execution plan to document the plan, the spend trajectory, the risk management plan, and other project-related information. Recipients also must develop a detailed metrics and benefits program to monitor progress on spend, jobs created, system reliability, and environmental benefits in accordance with an approved DOE format. Invoicing and reporting processes require care in completing a significant number of DOE and American Recovery and Reinvestment Act forms and templates.

Mr. Jacobi went on to say, “One of our clients was the among the first large grant recipients to be ‘definitized’ and receive cash. So we have already built the tools and templates we need and are supporting others as they get traction, comply with stringent DOE requirements, and receive cash.”

For nearly 30 years, ScottMadden has been a leader in energy consulting serving more than 200 energy organizations, including 90% of the top 20 utilities, and completed thousands of projects. We are very active in T&D policy and operations and have participated in multiple DOE and stimulus-related projects. For more information, visit www.scottmadden.com.

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