News Releases
GSA Partners with Utilities on Award-Winning Energy Conservation EffortsGSA # 9411 May 5, 1997 Elaine Kamarck, Vice President Gore's senior policy advisor, today presented the Vice President's Hammer Award to the Energy Management Team of the General Services Administration's (GSA) Northeast and Caribbean Region for cutting energy use in Federal buildings and saving up to $34 million. The team, headquartered in New York City, has reduced energy consumption in GSA buildings by 25% over the past 10 years, far exceeding the Government's goal of a 20% reduction by fiscal year 2000, by building effective public-private partnerships with local utility companies and other Government agencies. "This team exemplifies the Administration's emphasis on solving problems through public/private partnerships and community solutions," she said. "Their use of innovative management and funding techniques is a prominent example of how Government programs are working better and costing less." GSA Acting Administrator David J. Barram and Regional Administrator Karen Adler also praised the team's many conservation accomplishments, in the Executive Office Building ceremony. The team was responsible for savings that total nearly $34 million in cost avoidance and savings since 1991. These include the following: � cost avoidance of $10 million from reducing energy consumption in Federal buildings; � identifying, obtaining funding for and tracking to award over $16 million in savings from over 50 energy conservation projects; � getting more than $6.5 million in utility company rebates for installing a variety of energy efficient projects in many Federal facilities in the region, funds that were reinvested in additional energy conservation projects; � negotiating agreements with the Federal and State energy agencies and a major public utility to perform comprehensive energy audits that saved GSA more than $1.4 million. The team also forged an unprecedented public/private partnership, bringing GSA together the Consolidated Edison Company of New York (ConEd) and the U.S. Energy Department in the nation's first Federal Utility Energy Resource Partnership. This partnership makes ConEd's learning center resources available to provide state-of-the-art information and training in energy management and conservation for Federal energy program managers who must comply with mandates to reduce energy use. The Partnership will offer energy conservation workshops for Federal and local Government officials in accordance with the Energy Policy Act of 1992 and Executive Order 12902, which specify energy conservation objectives. In another regional initiative, GSA worked with local utility companies to obtain payment extensions and payment agreements for Federal employees who suffered financial strain during the congressional budget impasse in late 1995 and early 1996. Under the agreement with GSA, the utilities agreed to accommodate requests for assistance by Federal employees who could not pay their utility bills because they were furloughed or working but not getting paid. The Vice President's Hammer Award is awarded to teams that contribute dramatically to improving the way the Government works. Its name is symbolic of a $600 hammer the Government purchased under old procurement methods that have been reformed through initiatives sponsored by the Vice President's National Performance Review.
Last Reviewed 8/22/2005
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