President Biden this week released his proposed budget for fiscal year 2025 and beyond.
The budget would increase non-defense spending at the Department of Energy by roughly two percent.
The relatively modest budget request is a substantial shift from his budget proposal last year, which requested a 15 percent increase for non-defense energy programs at DOE, but which resulted – after negotiations with Congress – in effectively level funding between fiscal years 2023 and 2024.
Additional spending would increase funding for Clean Energy Demonstration projects, the Office of Science, Indian Energy and Policy, Grid Deployment, and the Inspector General’s office. The budget again proposes establishing the Federal Energy Management Program, the Office of Manufacturing & Energy Supply Chains, and the Office of State and Community Programs as separate budgetary accounts.
In addition, the budget would provide $4.11 billion for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, up from the $4 billion expected to be appropriated for 2024. However, the budget would also allow states to allocate up to 2.7 percent of LIHEAP funds (or roughly $110 to water assistance).
As a result, the budget proposes level funding LIHEAP with an option to provide up to $110 million in additional funds for either energy or water assistance. APPA has opposed expanding the uses of LIHEAP funds in the past and will work with other stakeholders going forward on this issue because of the inherent competition for resources.
Meanwhile, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is seeking an appropriation of $532,000,000 and 1,576 full-time equivalents to execute its mission in FY 2025. This funding request is an increase of $23,600,000 or about 4.6 percent, above the FY 2023 enacted level.
The Commission’s full funding requirement to meet base FY 2025 operating requirements is $565,400,000.
The Commission will continue to exercise fiscal discipline by applying $33,400,000 in prior year unobligated balances to meet its request level and support its full operating requirements in FY 2025, it said.
The Commission’s FY 2025 budget requests an increase of 68 FTEs above the FY 2023 enacted level based on an independent workload analysis “that identified recommendations to balance workload and enhance mission effectiveness meeting statutory requirements, executing on Chairman’s priorities, dynamic resource allocations based on FERC’s changing organizational priorities and responsibilities, and strategically addressing talent management needs.”
These additional FTEs will specifically address a gap in resources to effectively meet priority requirements of the Chairman and resources to execute in core functional areas, it said.
Furthermore, FERC intends to continue use of Inflation Reduction Act funds in FY 2025 “to augment and support its permitting efforts to conduct effective and timely environmental reviews and permitting of infrastructure projects.”
To continue to improve the way the Commission implements its statutory responsibilities over infrastructure permitting, the Commission will use IRA funds to support 44 FTE in FY 2025 and provide additional training and development for current staff.
