No Free Lunch – The ARRA SGIG Reporting Challenge

By Mark L. Feldman, Space-Time Insight

The term “no free lunch” dates back to the late 1930s and since has been enshrined in economic theory. Early 20th century bartenders offered free lunches with the purchase of beverage alcohol. It was an effective way of luring patrons and emptying pockets. Today, economists use the term when referring to the opportunity cost of one choice vs. another. Every opportunity has a cost. Some costs are more indeterminate than others. Such is the case with American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) reporting.

Under ARRA, $3.4 billion in stimulus money has been awarded, and awardees must deliver measurable results within negotiated time and achieve specified economic objectives. To ensure transparency and accountability, the money came with complex reporting and compliance requirements that the federal government intends to enforce assertively. Some $200 million has been allocated to investigations, audits, reviews and public reporting of how each utility is spending taxpayer dollars. Violations under the Federal Enforcement and Recovery Act (FERA) and Major Fraud Act (MFA) can result in millions of dollars in fines and up to 10 years in prison. That doesn’t include state penalties or additional prosecution under the False Claims Act, which can result in fines equivalent to treble damages.

The government means business. Reporting must be timely, accurate and consistent. Subcontractor performance must be verified. Audits are required. Media and taxpayer groups will have instant online access to reports and will apply their own standards.

Having accepted stimulus funds, electric utilities may watch their project managers and compliance teams struggle over reporting and compliance hurdles on their own or implement a software solution that alleviates the pressure and helps keep the watchdogs at bay. Compliance needn’t be a burden.

As part of their stimulus-funded programs, many utilities are deploying solutions that deliver full-context, situational intelligence and directly enable work flows that accomplish smart grid objectives. If those solutions come with purpose-built features that meet compliance reporting requirements, a utility multiplies the value received from a single solution and can deliver more accurate, timely, full-context reports.

Automated ARRA Smart Grid Investment Grant (SGIG) reporting solutions enable easier, secure and more accurate information sharing, joint review and revision. Advance warning to prevent potential audit failures or erroneous submissions reduce risk of investigation, audit, negative publicity, fines, penalties and prosecution.

Utilities evaluating vendors should look for core features designed to support the Department of Energy (DOE) requirements: automated quarterly, semiannual and annual reporting in DOE-compliant, pre-defined templates; data collection automation from all relevant data sources; automated build and impact metrics calculations; pre-configured build and impact metrics; an intuitive collaboration platform; built-in work flow processes for reporting reviews; secure, role-based visibility and access; easy-to-use interface; full stimulus grant life cycle visibility; executive dashboards; real-time, pre-configured, audit trail reports; visual performance monitoring and flexibility to accommodate evolving reporting requirements.

ARRA SGIG reporting solutions that come as part of broader, integrated, smart grid enablement analytics solutions provide even greater value. A purpose-built, unified ARRA smart grid investment reporting solution offers a single point of integration. Everything that can be automated is automated, including comprehensive, real-time, situational awareness and generation of reports formatted for the https://federalreporting.gov site. Compliance needn’t be a burden.

Mark L. Feldman is CEO of Space-Time Insight. He is responsible for strategic direction. Reach him at [email protected].