SPRINGFIELD -- Created in an effort to keep the cost of electricity as low as possible, the Illinois Power Agency has only one employee and no one to handle its finances, a recent audit found.

Mark Pruitt was tapped to run the agency almost two years ago, and he's remained its only employee ever since.

In a new report, Auditor General William Holland found that Pruitt, a utility expert, had trouble with the accounting paperwork because the agency doesn't have an accountant.

The Illinois Power Agency acts as a broker to ensure Ameren and ComEd buy the cheapest electricity available. That way, consumers pay less.

Last year, the agency brokered a deal that resulted in the utilities buying cheaper power. Pruitt used consultants to help, and has a relatively tiny budget for a state agency at just more than $1 million.

Pruitt said he's happy with the result of the power purchase last year, and expects to hire help soon to deal with the agency's other issues. He noted the state's budget crisis has slowed down the hiring.

"We'll deal with this while the rest of the world's not on fire," Pruitt said.

Pruitt said Gov. Pat Quinn has authorized him to bring some people on.

"There's not a manual for setting up a new agency," Pruitt said.

The audit also criticizes the agency for not having what it considers to be a fully functioning office.

"Without having access to basic office equipment, the Agency is unable to maintain adequate records, such as copies of contracts and vouchers submitted to various agencies," the audit reads. "Additionally, the Agency cannot operate in an efficient manner."

Pruitt works in Chicago's James R. Thompson Center and said he has shared technology resources with other agencies.

"I'm just cheap," he said. "I'm willing to share my pads of paper."

Pruitt's agency was created in 2007 after a months-long controversy over a spike in some Ameren and ComEd power bills. Some of the money from a $1 billion settlement with Ameren, Exelon and others, pays for the Illinois Power Agency's operation.

David Kolata, director of the utility-watchdog Citizen's Utility Board, said he thinks Pruitt's doing a good job helping keep costs down. The fact that Pruitt remains alone in the agency is just a matter of bad timing, he said.

"The creation of the IPA coincided with the fiscal crisis of the state," Kolata said.

The state's Auditor General office does regularly scheduled audits of all state agencies. The full report can be found at http://www.auditor.illinois.gov/