Topic: Energy — Conservation
Subject: Government operations and politics
Date: 2013-02-04 00:00:00

Federal Cost Reduction Act of 2013 - Requires: (1) the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to issue recommendations for reducing or consolidating the number of federal data centers by at least 40% by the end of FY2018 and by at least 80% by the end of FY2023, and (2) executive agency heads to implement such recommendations within six months after their issuance.

Requires the Administrator of General Services (GSA) to report on: (1) recommendations to reduce long-term real estate costs and energy expenditures; and (2) federal employee parking expenses, with a plan to reduce such expenses.

Requires executive agency heads to establish a plan to reduce the volume of material printed for FY2014-FY2024 and to require duplex printing on all federal printers and copiers.

Requires the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to submit a plan to implement federal employee cost savings proposals.

Authorizes executive agency heads to enter into cost-effective power purchase agreements for the purchase of electricity from federally-owned or controlled renewable energy sources.

Establishes in the Treasury the Federal Facility Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Projects Fund to provide assistance for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects carried out at federal facilities to reduce energy use.

Requires the Secretary of Energy (DOE) to: (1) establish a federal facility energy efficiency and renewable energy projects fund program to make loans to assist agencies in reducing energy use; (2) promulgate regulations to enable agencies to retain the financial savings from entering into utility energy saving contracts; (3) promulgate regulations to enable agencies to identify all potential locations for renewable energy projects; (4) issue guidance for agencies to achieve energy savings by using computer hardware, energy efficiency software, and power management tools; and (5) issue guidance on a federal energy management and data collection standard that includes a plan for GSA to publish energy consumption data for individual facilities on a searchable and free website accessible by the public.

Requires federal agencies to submit a plan to the Secretary on metering their consumption of electricity. Requires the Secretary to develop and report on best practices for the use of advanced metering of energy use in federal facilities, buildings, and equipment.

Authorizes the GSA Administrator to use appropriated funds to update project designs to meet federal building energy efficiency standards.

Requires the Administrator and the Secretary to incorporate commissioning and recommissioning standards for all real property that: (1) is more than $10 million in value, (2) has more than 50,000 square feet, or (3) has energy intensity of more than $2 per square foot.

Requires that a contribution by the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to a state for facilities for reserve components of the Armed Forces, which is made at an armory or readiness center for an energy efficiency upgrade, cover 100% of the costs of architectural, engineering, and design services and the cost of the construction related to the upgrade.