The author fails to mention the CEO's comment from the earnings press release -
The good news is that the company expects to find new business that will more than offset the completion of the big CREZ project. If true, then backlog will probably bottom out after Q1 or Q2. Here's the quote -
"With the strong team we have assembled, we believe we are well positioned to take advantage of future opportunities to build on our record growth," Mr. Davis said. At December 31, 2012, Southeast Power's construction backlog was $40.9 million, compared to $12.2 million at 2011 year-end. The 2012 backlog included $23.8 million relating to a project scheduled for completion this August. "We believe we will meet the challenge of generating new business more than sufficient to offset completion of this project," Mr. Davis added.