Pre-Event WS: Performance Contracting Lessons Learned: Peer-to-Peer Discussion  

Tracy Niro is the Utility Program manager at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP). Tracy is a recognized expert in energy policy, federal utility service contracting, and utility energy service contracts. She also oversees electric and natural gas utility acquisitions for DOE sites nationwide and serves as the chair of the Federal Utility Partnership Working Group. Tracy was a 2009 Presidential Management Fellow, has completed detail assignments to the White House Council on Environmental Quality and the International Energy Agency, and was awarded a Fulbright Professional Scholarship to conduct energy research in Australia. Tracy began her career as a staff accountant for an investor-owned utility and has 20 years of experience in the energy industry including past experience leading the DOE FEMP Power Purchase Agreement Program and serving as coordinator for floating offshore wind regulation in Hawaii at the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in economics from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, earned her Juris Doctor from the University of San Diego School of Law.

Chandra Shah is a senior project leader at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). She has been supporting the Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) since 1998--helping agencies purchase off-site renewable energy, implement distributed energy projects, and achieve energy/water goals through utility energy service contracts (UESC) and other utility partnerships. Chandra is a co-author of the ESPC ESA Toolkit and other ESPC ESA templates. She is a CEM and holds an M.B.A. from the University of Washington and a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan.

Jeff is a project manager specializing in project development and finance at NREL. Since joining NREL in 2019, his work has focused on supporting the FEMP Utility Program with efforts to expand the use of performance contracting across the federal government, helping federal agencies achieve energy goals through the implementation of Utility Energy Service Contracts (UESCs). In addition to advising agencies on project development requirements and best practices, Jeff oversees the development of training and resources to equip agencies with the tools needed to successfully execute projects.

Matt works as a project manager in NREL's Project Development and Finance Group within the Accelerated Deployment and Decision Support Center. His work is primarily focused on supporting the Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) in performance contracting and distributed energy procurement. Prior to joining NREL, Matt was an officer in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and worked as a construction project manager with NORESCO. He has experience overseeing and managing projects that include building management system and HVAC control upgrades, LED lighting retrofits, boiler and chiller installations, and combined heat and power plant build outs.

Tim joined the NREL Performance contracting team in 2024 following more than 30 years of energy efficiency and sustainability positions including his role as the energy manager at US DOE Hanford where he led the technical team for the first DOE site wide ESPC contract. He continued in the ESPC arena as a NREL subcontractor for more than 10 years where he provided project facilitator and contract development services for projects across the US. Following his work with DOE he entered the private sector, working on green technologies in PV, lighting and laboratory equipment. During his time in the private sector DOE Tim worked with utilities across the US and foreign governments to analyze and develop incentives for energy efficiency improvements. Just prior to joining NREL, Tim was the federal government capture lead for EPRI where he coordinated federal grant applications and collaborated with EPRI's utility members to leverage the US government's resilience and electrification program funding.