Objective

To determine the extent of implementation of the five recommendations included in our initial audit report, Selected Management and Operations Practices – BuildSmart NY/Executive Order 88 (Report 2023-S-27).

About the Program

The New York Power Authority (NYPA) is a fiscally independent public corporation authorized by the Power Authority Act to help provide a continuous and adequate supply of dependable electricity to the people of the State. Chapter 469 of the Laws of 1989 requires the State Comptroller to audit NYPA’s management and operations at least once every 5 years.

Executive Order (EO 88), issued on December 28, 2012, mandated a 20% improvement in the energy efficiency performance of State government buildings by April 2020. EO 88 set a goal to reduce the average source Energy Usage Intensity (EUI) by at least 20% from the baseline of State Fiscal Year 2010–11. The BuildSmart NY program was created to carry out EO 88, and in April 2020, BuildSmart 2025 expanded upon the original program, setting new objectives equivalent to a 34% reduction in energy usage from the baseline of State Fiscal Year 2014–15. Executive Order 22 (EO 22) was issued in September 2022 and further built upon EO 88, with a goal of 11 trillion British Thermal Units of energy savings to be achieved by 2025 through the BuildSmart 2025 program. The organizations subject to EO 88—Affected State Entities—are required to work with NYPA to achieve their allotted portion of the overall savings targeted by 2025.

The objectives of the initial audit, issued September 28, 2023, were to determine whether the 20% reduction in energy use required by EO 88 was achieved by April 1, 2020, and whether NYPA provided the required oversight to the Affected State Entities in line with EO 88 Guidelines. The audit found NYPA did not reach the EO 88 goal of 20% reduction in EUI by April 2020. The actual EUI reduction reported was 14.4%, and when committed (incomplete) projects were added, the reduction in EUI was 22.6%. However, NYPA’s EO 88 Final Report Executive Summary included 123 projects of 158 that were not scheduled to be completed until as late as 2024. NYPA engaged a consultant because it realized it would not meet the program's goals. Based on its consultant’s advice, NYPA adjusted the baseline data. For example, NYPA made STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) adjustments to the State University of New York but not to the City University of New York. Despite being the administrator of the Executive Order, NYPA did not believe it had the authority to require an Affected State Entity to implement the recommendations from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers Level II audits the entities funded. NYPA did not document its efforts to monitor Affected State Entity compliance with EO 88 and NYPA guidelines. Additionally, when NYPA annually reported the status of the program, officials shied away from identifying the deficiencies in this non-compliance and asserted that they had no recourse to enforce EO 88.

Key Findings

NYPA officials made progress in addressing the problems we identified in the initial audit report. Of the initial report’s five audit recommendations, two were implemented, two were partially implemented, and one is no longer applicable.

Key Recommendation

NYPA officials are requested, but not required, to provide information about any actions planned to address the unresolved issues discussed in this follow-up within 30 days of the report’s issuance.