Energy Savings: Performance Contracts Offer Benefits, but Vigilance Is Needed to Protect Government Interests;Rept. to Congress

摘要

The federal government is the nation's largest energy consumer, spending, by latest accounting, $3.7 billion on energy for its 500,000 facilities. Upfront funding for energy-efficiency improvements has been difficult to obtain because of budget constraints and competing agency missions. The Congress in 1986 authorized agencies to use Energy Savings Performance Contracts (ESPCs) to privately finance these improvements. The law requires that annual payments for ESPCs not exceed the annual savings generated by the improvements. GAO was asked to identify (1) the extent to which agencies used ESPCs$ (2) what energy savings, financial savings, and other benefits agencies expect to achieve$ (3) the extent to which actual financial savings cover costs$ and (4) what areas, if any, require steps to protect the government's financial interests in using ESPCs.