Recommendations for Executive Action

1. Status: Open

   Comments: Since GAO's October 2019 report, FEMA updated its guidance and has provided information to local entities on project eligibility and the industry standards it would accept for restoring the grid. In addition, in January 2020, FEMA provided training to FEMA regional officials and local entities on how to implement this guidance. Despite these efforts, uncertainty remains regarding the extent to which local entities in Puerto Rico have sufficient information to implement projects to promote grid resilience. This is in part due to challenges such as the need for written guidance on how project development will proceed after the fixed-cost estimate is finalized. GAO will continue to monitor FEMA progress towards implementation of this recommendation.

   Recommendation: The Administrator of FEMA should develop and provide clear written information in the form of policy, guidance, or regulations, as appropriate, to COR3 and PREPA that clarifies how FEMA will implement new authorities for the electricity grid recovery in Puerto Rico, including guidance on industry standards and defining resilience. (Recommendation 1)

   Agency Affected: Federal Emergency Management Agency

2. Status: Open

   Comments: As of August 2020, HUD had not published a federal notice outlining the grant process and requirements for CDBG-DR funding available for improvements to Puerto Rico's electricity grid, nor has it established time frames and a plan for issuing this notice. We continue to believe that the action we recommended is needed and will monitor HUD's efforts as part of our regular recommendation follow-up and additional work examining federal support to improve grid resilience in Puerto Rico. When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

   Recommendation: The Secretary of HUD should establish time frames and a plan for publication of the grant process and requirements for CDBG-DR funding available for improvements to Puerto Rico's electricity grid. (Recommendation 2)

   Agency Affected: Department of Housing and Urban Development

3. Status: Open

   Comments: FEMA and DOE have enhanced coordination efforts between their respective agencies and with local entities involved in long-term grid recovery in Puerto Rico via the Technical Coordination Team but until the team's fiscal working group demonstrates how it will help coordinate different potential funding sources, the extent to which these efforts will enhance progress toward grid recovery is uncertain. FEMA can demonstrate this, in part, by providing documentation of efforts to coordinate funding for long-term recovery projects. GAO will continue to monitor agency efforts to support grid recovery in Puerto Rico.

   Recommendation: The Administrator of FEMA, in coordination with DOE, HUD, and other federal and local entities, should establish a mechanism, or take steps to improve existing mechanisms, for coordination among the multiple local and federal entities involved in grid recovery that facilitates decision-making and information sharing among local and federal agencies. (Recommendation 3)

   Agency Affected: Federal Emergency Management Agency

4. Status: Closed - Implemented

   Comments: In April 2020, FEMA and DOE finalized an interagency agreement that, among other things, defines the technical assistance that DOE is to provide to FEMA and local entities involved in long-term grid recovery in Puerto Rico.

   Recommendation: The Administrator of FEMA, in coordination with DOE, should establish an interagency agreement to define roles and responsibilities to clarify how FEMA will consult with DOE in grid recovery planning, implementation, and decision-making. (Recommendation 4)

   Agency Affected: Federal Emergency Management Agency

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