Performance Contracting Overview  

Since mid-2015, Ira Birnbaum has been at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) under the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Ira serves as the ENABLE Program Manager as well as AFFECT FAC Manager. Previously, Ira supervised the Policy and Technical Assistance team in the DOE Weatherization and Intergovernmental Programs Office, where he oversaw assistance to advance deployment of energy efficiency and renewable energy policies, programs, and financing mechanisms among state and local governments. Prior to DOE, Ira spent 18 years as senior advisor for energy efficiency, clean energy, and global climate change at the U.S. Agency for International Development, where he designed and managed U.S. foreign assistance projects in the Europe and Eurasia region. Ira previously worked as a consultant advising utilities serving 35 states and five Canadian provinces on the design, implementation, and evaluation of energy efficiency demand-side management programs. Ira began his career with two utilities, TVA and Austin Energy, where he designed and managed some of the country's earliest energy efficiency demand-side management programs.

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. 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.

Priya is the Energy Savings Performance Contract (ESPC) Program Manager at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP). Ms. Stiller has experience serving as ESPC project manager at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Engineering (USACE) Support Center in Huntsville and as a civil works project manager overseeing infrastructure investigation and construction projects for the USACE Savannah District. She performed assignments at the Army Office of Energy Initiatives and Headquarters USACE. Prior to entering government service in 2009, she worked as a marketing communications specialist For Siemens Energy & Automation Inc. on their renewable energy and chemical industry business lines. She holds a bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of Georgia's Terry College of Business and a master's degree in Systems Engineering Management from the Naval Postgraduate School.

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.