The laws governing utilities and Public Utility Commissions provide incentives for many utilities to actually sell less energy and other resources and profit from this-a truly extraordinary shift in thinking. The rapid move toward utility deregulation will probably reduce the availability of DSM programs and other types of utility incentives. In an era of decreasing Federal resources, private sector partnerships will be critical for financing energy saving projects. An additional important factor is the deregulation of the electric utility industry. Learning how to purchase electricity at the lowest possible cost will become increasingly significant.
Utilities often are interested in retaining their large Federal customers.
This gives the facility manager a real advantage when working with a utility. Virtually every electric utility in the country has a range of energy conservation services available to help the facility manager reduce energy consumption and costs. The utility will generally have personnel with experience and expertise in energy audits and will often provide their services free. These programs allow the Federal government to implement energy and water conservation measures through financing provided by the utility. AWCs and BOAs are used to provide general terms and conditions of the contract for ease in procuring these programs.