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Open Recommendations (118 total)

Electricity Grid: DOE Should Address Lessons Learned from Previous Disasters to Enhance Resilience

GAO-22-105093
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Energy The Secretary of Energy should establish a comprehensive approach to enhance coordination among its disaster response, grid recovery, and technical assistance efforts, including developing a plan to integrate lessons learned from prior disaster response efforts into the resilience goals of its grid recovery and technical assistance efforts. (Recommendation 1)
Open
In February 2023, DOE stated that it believes it is already implementing this recommendation, citing a number of mechanisms to coordinate and manage incidents and events across missions, programs, and facilities, and the intent of these efforts includes ensuring the coordination of functions, personnel, procedures, and communications to minimize duplication. However, DOE did not provide sufficient evidence that this coordination incorporates its grid recovery and technical assistance efforts, or that it had identified a plan to establish a comprehensive, DOE-wide approach to enhance coordination related to those efforts. As of January 2024, DOE officials stated that it is working with relevant offices to obtain documentation that demonstrates that it has implemented the recommendation.

Department of Energy Contracting: Actions Needed to Strengthen Subcontract Oversight

GAO-19-107
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Energy The Director of the DOE Office of Acquisition Management should clearly define—in guidance or other documents—which subcontracts should be audited, how an audit is defined, and how to meet subcontract audit requirements if Defense Contract Audit Agency is unable to conduct the audit.(Recommendation 1)
Open – Partially Addressed
In its comments on a draft of the report, DOE partially concurred with the recommendation, but stated that there is no government-wide requirement that defines an audit or prescribes the auditing of subcontracts. According to officials, DOE reviewed existing regulations, guidance, and contract provisions on audit requirements and determined that a need exists for additional guidance or contract provisions on audits for major contracts. DOE has not clarified which subcontracts should be audited. DOE submitted a case to the Civilian Agency Acquisition Council to recommend a government-wide requirement to define audit and prescribe when to obtain audits of subcontracts. As of March 2024, we were waiting on information from DOE on the status of the case. DOE officials said this is an issue that must be resolved governmentwide by audit organizations and DOE does not plan to take additional actions. DOE has taken action on the third part of the recommendation and included in its Acquisition Guide information on audit options when the Defense Contract Audit Agency is unable to conduct an audit.

Department of Energy Contracting: Additional Actions Could Further Strengthen Competition

GAO-23-105209
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Energy The Director of DOE's Office of Science should hold periodic meetings to share information with industry about how competitions are conducted and how offers are evaluated, including any changes in agency practices. (Recommendation 2)
Open
In October 2023, DOE officials stated that they would use feedback from industry on a current competition to develop lessons learned and consider process changes. Officials estimated that it would fully implement this recommendation by December 2024 and did not provide additional information in its March 2024 update. We will continue to monitor DOE's efforts to address this recommendation.

Critical Infrastructure Protection: Actions Needed to Address Significant Cybersecurity Risks Facing the Electric Grid

GAO-19-332
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1 Open Recommendations
1 Priority
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Energy
Priority Rec.
The Secretary of Energy, in coordination with DHS and other relevant stakeholders, should develop a plan aimed at implementing the federal cybersecurity strategy for the electric grid and ensure that the plan addresses the key characteristics of a national strategy, including a full assessment of cybersecurity risks to the grid. (Recommendation 1)
Open
According to DOE officials, the department is (1) examining cybersecurity risks to the electricity grid as part of an overall risk characterization effort that will also consider other threats and hazards, and (2) evaluating combined physical-cyber attack scenarios to address GAO's recommendation. As of April 2024, DOE did not have an estimated date for issuing a plan related to addressing all of the key characteristics needed to implement a national strategy, such as fully assessing cybersecurity risks to the electricity grid. DOE needs to develop a plan for implementing the federal cybersecurity strategy for the electric grid, ensure that the plan addresses the key characteristics of a national strategy, and coordinate that plan with the Department of Homeland Security and other relevant stakeholders.

Nuclear Waste Cleanup: DOE Needs to Address Weaknesses in Program and Contractor Management at Los Alamos

GAO-23-105665
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Energy The Secretary of Energy should direct the Senior Advisor for the Office of Environmental Management to track and report on the implementation and effectiveness of the recommendations from the July 2022 integrated project team review. (Recommendation 6)
Open
As of November 2023, we are following up with the agency and will update the response to this recommendation in the future.

Hanford Cleanup: DOE's Efforts to Close Tank Farms Would Benefit from Clearer Legal Authorities and Communication

GAO-21-73
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Energy The Secretary of Energy should direct the Assistant Secretary of the Office of Environmental Management to assess DOE's efforts to involve stakeholders in the Hanford tank closure process to ensure that DOE engages them in the decision-making process, communicates with them throughout the process in a way that addresses their concerns regarding technical challenges, and provides them with transparent information about the science and rationale behind decisions. (Recommendation 3)
Open
In February 2024, EM officials stated that they have not performed an assessment on stakeholder engagement specific to the tank closure topic. Officials noted that they work with the Tri-Party Agreement agencies at Hanford to conduct an annual stakeholder engagement survey, but this survey does not address tank closure. By assessing DOE's efforts to involve stakeholders in the Hanford tank closure process to ensure that it does so in a manner consistent with our risk-informed decision-making framework, DOE could have better assurance that stakeholders will perceive its decision-making process as transparent and legitimate.

Artificial Intelligence: Agencies Have Begun Implementation but Need to Complete Key Requirements

GAO-24-105980
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Energy The Secretary of Energy should ensure that the department updates its AI use case inventory to include all the required information, at minimum, and takes steps to ensure that the data in the inventory aligns with provided instructions. (Recommendation 13)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Critical Minerals: Building on Federal Efforts to Advance Recovery and Substitution Could Help Address Supply Risks

GAO-22-104824
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Energy The Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, in collaboration with the members of the Critical Minerals Subcommittee, should update the 2019 critical minerals national strategy as it relates to recovery and substitution. The update should address newly enacted statutory requirements and recent federal efforts and incorporate characteristics of effective national strategies, including (1) goals, subordinate objectives, activities, and performance measures; (2) resources, investments, and risk management; and (3) integration and implementation. (Recommendation 1)
Open
As of February 2024, we are following up on this recommendation and will update it when we receive information.

Federal Research: Agencies Need to Enhance Policies to Address Foreign Influence

GAO-21-130
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Energy The Secretary of Energy should develop an agency-wide policy on conflict of interest for grants, to address both financial and non-financial conflicts. (Recommendation 4)
Open – Partially Addressed
DOE concurred with our recommendation. DOE issued an interim conflict of interest (COI) policy for financial and organizational conflicts of interest for financial assistance awards on December 21, 2021. In March 2023, DOE noted its intent to issue a Notice of Public Rulemaking to establish conflict of interest and conflict of commitment (COI/COC) requirements, which will replace the interim COI policy. As of April 2024, DOE reported that the Conflict of Interest Notice of Proposed Rulemaking has been drafted and is going through internal DOE review for posting to the Federal Register, but there is no estimated timeline for when the notice may be posted. DOE officials noted they would follow up with GAO by October 2024.

Department of Energy Contracting: Additional Actions Could Further Strengthen Competition

GAO-23-105209
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Energy The Director of DOE's Office of Science should use structured mechanisms for soliciting information on how entities decide whether to submit an offer for a solicitation, such as through periodic reverse industry day events. (Recommendation 5)
Open
In October 2023, DOE officials stated that the Office of Science solicited industry feedback on barriers to competition as part of a current contract solicitation and will follow up with entities that expressed interest in the solicitation but did not submit offers to gather lessons learned. DOE did not provide additional information on this recommendation in its March 2024 update. We will continue to monitor DOE's efforts to address this recommendation.
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