UESC On-Demand Webinar Series: Introduction Part 1 - Overview and Background  

Education Type: 
On-Demand
Duration: 
1 Hour
Level: 
Introductory
FEMP IACET: 
0.2 CEU
Sponsored by: 

DOE Federal Energy Management Program - FEMP

The Federal Energy Management Program is helping agencies improve facility operations, upgrade infrastructure, and save taxpayer dollars by offering training and partnership opportunities with their serving utilities that explore contracting options available, including utility energy service contracts (UESCs). A UESC, ideal for any size project, is a limited-source contract between a federal agency and serving utility for energy management and demand-reduction services. This course provides an introduction to the UESC program and describes the features and benefits of utilizing UESCs to install energy conservation measures at federal sites.

This training is part of a sequential series of UESC offerings. The recommended order of completion is:

Instructors

Tracy Niro, Energy Technology Program Specialist, U.S. Department of Energy  

Tracy Niro is the utility energy service contract (UESC) program manager and Federal Utility Partnership Working Group chair at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP). Tracy also manages the Renewable Energy Procurement Program and oversees utility acquisitions at DOE. Tracy was a 2009 Presidential Management Fellow and was awarded the Fulbright Professional Scholarship in Climate Change and Clean Energy to Australia in 2013. Tracy's career in energy began as a staff accountant for an investor-owned utility. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in economics from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and earned her Juris Doctor from the University of San Diego School of Law.

Karen Thomas, Program Leader, National Renewable Energy Laboratory  

Karen Thomas serves as the National Renewable Energy Laboratory lead for the U.S. Department of Energy's Federal Energy Management Program's (FEMP) utility energy services contract (UESC) team. She also provides technical support to energy efficiency and renewable energy projects for federal agencies and utilities (nationwide) to implement energy- and dollar-saving projects in federal facilities. She is the lead instructor for the FEMP UESC workshops and provides technical support to federal acquisition teams. An additional aspect of her lead role is growing the number of utilities providing UESC through strategic-partnership building with key utilities and leveraging private-sector investment (approximately $200 million annually) in federal energy projects.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this training, attendees will be able to:

  • Describe federal statutory requirements related to energy consumption and reduction in federal buildings;
  • Explain the basis of the UESC authority as a tool for achieving energy and cost savings at federal facilities;
  • Describe the basic features and benefits of a UESC that enable federal agencies to achieve long-term energy savings via comprehensive energy conservation measures;
  • Explain the differences between the UESC implementation models; and
  • Describe the difference between the role of a utility and an energy service company in the UESC process.
Federal Agencies and Facility Criteria: