Senators Press DOE Nominee on Workforce Reductions, Infrastructure Law Implementation and Grid Reliability

Senators on the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources sought commitments from Preston Wells Griffith III, the nominee for Undersecretary of Energy, to address reported workforce reductions, frozen grants and contract uncertainties at the Department of Energy and to ensure implementation of projects funded under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

"The power to rescind obligated funds rests with Congress," Ranking Member Martin Heinrich reminded nominees; Griffith responded that he is "committed to following the law on executing on the laws of this body" and would prioritize understanding the details of previously awarded projects and contracts should he be confirmed.

Nut graf: Committee members repeatedly asked Griffith to clarify whether DOE would release already-obligated funds and preserve program offices that support grid deployment, cybersecurity and clean energy demonstrations. Senators asked for commitments to prioritize Office of Clean Energy Demonstration programs and to use DOE authorities to support tribal energy projects and Alaska energy opportunities.

Senators specifically named several DOE offices and programs of interest: the Grid Deployment Office (grid reliability and deployment), the Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (referred to in the hearing as CESER or "Caesar"), the Office of Clean Energy Demonstration (OSED), and the Office of Indian Energy and the Tribal loan guarantee program. Griffith affirmed the importance of grid-enhancing technologies and cybersecurity tools for the grid and said he "looks forward to learning more and making sure we're effectively and efficiently deploying those resources." He told Senator Lisa Murkowski he would prioritize evaluating OSED and the spending related to it.

Senators also raised concerns about the Bonneville Power Administration and other power marketing administrations. Senator Maria Cantwell submitted for the record a quotation from two former BPA leaders warning that "the level of risk now with the existing workforce reductions is unacceptable" and asked whether BPA's workforce should be exempt from hiring freezes. Griffith said he was not aware of current internal deliberations but emphasized that he would prioritize reliability, security and resilience should he be confirmed.

Tribal energy and Alaska-specific issues came up in several questions. Senator Murkowski asked Griffith to work "to identify some opportunities to better leverage the resources that are within the office to make real progress" for tribal communities; Griffith committed to prioritize the Office of Indian Energy and to work with senators on Alaska itineraries to review projects such as geothermal and hydro-plus-battery demonstrations in places like Cordova.

On broader energy strategy, several senators pressed Griffith on an "all-electrons" approach to meet rapidly growing electricity demand driven by AI data centers and reshoring of manufacturing. Griffith said, "We need all electrons and we need them at a fast rate, to meet the growing demand from AI" and emphasized the need for a secure, reliable and affordable portfolio of energy sources including nuclear, natural gas, renewables and storage.

The committee submitted no confirmation vote during the hearing. Chairman Lee said follow-up questions would be accepted for the record and closed the hearing.