The more than 330 Recovery Act-funded projects that the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability has been managing over the past five years have been successfully completed, with major improvements to the grid now in place across America. ...
October 5, 2015
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I am excited to announce that the more than 330 Recovery Act-funded projects that the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability has been managing over the past five years have been successfully completed, with major improvements to the grid now in place across America. Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the Energy Department invested more than $31 billion in a wide range of projects nationwide. The DOE investment included $4.5 billion for modernization of the nation’s electric grid. With matching private funding from the electric sector, the investment in grid modernization totaled about $9.5 billion.
From the beginning, the Recovery Act investment was intended to energize industry and help accelerate work being done so that investments would go farther and so faster progress could be made in transforming our aging infrastructure into a system that better supports American consumers and a vibrant, growing economy. And now, I’m pleased to say that our nation’s grid today is more reliable, resilient, flexible, efficient and secure. In Florida, for example, Florida Power & Light customers now have more reliable service and faster restoration of service. In Tennessee, improved reliability is saving residents and businesses of Chattanooga about $50 million a year. In a small Texas town and in the Tehachapi Mountains of California, integration of renewable energy is happening, thanks to two projects in which energy storage is smoothing the intermittent nature of wind by storing excess energy and providing it to the grid to meet customer demand.
These are just a few of the many successful projects that have delivered a range of major benefits to the nation and advanced the grid significantly. I hope you’ll take a moment to read our fact sheet that describes in more detail how the Recovery Act investment has allowed Americans to start experiencing the benefits of the future grid today. Additional information on individual projects is available on our website and on smartgrid.gov. While much work remains to be done to modernize our electricity system, the Recovery Act has made a vital difference in moving us forward.
Stay tuned as the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability continues driving national efforts to modernize the electricity delivery system, enhance the security and reliability of America’s energy infrastructure, and facilitate recovery from disruptions to the energy supply.
Patricia A. Hoffman
Acting Assistant Secretary, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Electricity
Former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Electricity (OE) at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Ms. Patricia A. Hoffman also served as Acting Under Secretary for Science and Energy from January 2017 until November 2017 when the U.S. Senate confirmed Mark Menezes as Under Secretary of Energy. Ms. Hoffman served as Acting Assistant Secretary for OE from January 2017 until October 2017 when the OE Assistant Secretary was confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
Ms. Hoffman was named Assistant Secretary for OE from June 2010 to January 2017, after serving as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary since November 2007. The focus of her responsibility was to provide leadership on a national level to modernize the electric grid, enhance the security and reliability of the energy infrastructure and facilitate recovery from disruptions to the energy supply both domestically and internationally. This is critical to meeting the Nation’s growing demand for reliable electricity by overcoming the challenges of our Nation’s aging electricity transmission and distribution system and addressing the vulnerabilities in our energy supply chain.
Prior to her this position, Ms. Hoffman served in a dual capacity as Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS) for Research and Development (R&D) and Chief Operating Officer (COO) within OE. During her tenure as the DAS for R&D, she developed the long-term research strategy and improved the management portfolio of research programs for modernizing and improving the resiliency of the electric grid. This included developing and implementing sensors and operational tools for wide-area monitoring, energy storage research and demonstration, and the development of advanced conductors to increase the capacity and flexibility of the grid. She also initiated a new research effort focused on integrating and distributing renewable energy through the electric grid, such as promoting plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and implementing smart grid technologies to maintain system reliability. As COO, she managed the OE business operations, including human resources, budget development, financial execution, and performance management.
Prior to joining OE, she was the Program Manager for the Federal Energy Management Program within the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at DOE. This program guides the Federal government to “lead by example” promoting energy efficiency, renewable energy, and smart energy management. Complementing her building energy efficiency experience, she also was the Program Manager for the Distributed Energy Program, which conducted research on advanced natural gas power generation and combined heat and power systems. Her accomplishments included the successful completion of the Advanced Turbine System program resulting in a high-efficiency industrial gas turbine power generation product.
Ms. Hoffman holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in Ceramic Science and Engineering from Pennsylvania State University.