This webinar will provide hands-on examples of evaluating potential cost savings from alternative utility rates and net metering policies using NREL’s publicly available REopt® web tool. As utility rates and net metering policies become increasingly complex, it is important for federal agencies to understand these rates and programs to better assess options for reducing costs through rate switching, energy efficiency, and distributed energy investments. REopt offers a user-friendly, streamlined approach to facilitate this type of analysis. In this training, participants will learn how to glean key information from utility bills, examine alternative utility rate options, understand their net metering policies, and model these policies in the REopt web tool.

In U.S. states with retail choice electricity markets—also known as competitive supply—federal facilities can choose between two primary electricity and natural gas procurement options: staying with the default supply tariff from their local utility or contracting with a licensed third-party supplier. This training webinar will guide federal energy and procurement professionals through the key concepts, benefits, and considerations to help identify the most cost-effective options. Participants will gain practical knowledge to evaluate their site’s supply choices, understand market dynamics, and make informed decisions to reduce costs and manage price risk. The session will also highlight how to leverage procurement support from the General Services Administration (GSA) and the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) to streamline the contracting process and simplify access to competitively priced energy supply contracts.

Learning Objectives

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

• Identify where retail choice electricity and natural gas procurement options are available from third-party suppliers.
• Understand the common types of retail choice supply contracts and how rates differ from those in vertically integrated (regulated) markets.
• Become familiar with how retail choice supply contracts are structured and the process used by GSA and DLA Energy to establish contracts for federal facilities.
• Learn how to assess and manage risks associated with third-party supply contracts.
• Engage with GSA and DLA Energy to stay abreast of changes in retail choice markets and participate in Requests for Information (RFIs) and Requests for Proposals (RFPs) as new contracts become available.

The Utility Open Houses for Federal Customers initiative serves as a platform for facilitating connections and informed discussions between federal agencies and utility providers, as well as raising awareness and educating federal agencies about utility programs to advance key federal energy objectives. By working with utilities, federal agencies can access cost-effective energy solutions, optimize operations, and strengthen energy infrastructure. These partnerships help agencies navigate the evolving energy landscape while maximizing savings and operational reliability.

Interested in attending in-person? Please email Andrew Grejda to inquire about the in-person event.

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Learning Objectives

Utility Open Houses are events co-hosted by the Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) and utilities that provide federal agencies with insights into utility offerings and incentive programs, focusing on key pathways to achieving federal energy goals, including:

• Lowering Energy Costs Through Utility Programs: Learn how to take advantage of programs designed to reduce costs and optimize energy consumption, including demand response, time-variable pricing, energy incentives, and technology rebates. 
• Optimizing Energy Procurement and Utility Rates: Evaluate utility rate options and tariff structures to identify cost savings opportunities and explore off-site energy procurement options that can improve energy reliability and price stability. 
• Improving Energy Efficiency with Utility Energy Service Contracts (UESC): Discover how UESC programs enable agencies to finance and implement energy conservation measures that drive long-term operational savings. 
• Enhancing Resilience: Explore programs designed to enhance energy security, harden infrastructure, and ensure continuity of operations. 
• Streamlining Utility Procurement with GSA Areawide Contract (AWC) Services: Understand how AWCs simplify access to energy management services, UESCs, and other utility programs.

Wind is the single biggest force placed on solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. While industry structural engineers work to establish minimum design and safety standards, agencies need to understand how to achieve durable systems that can reliably operate for 30 or even 50 years. Wind smart PV systems not only prevent unnecessary loss during windstorms, but also cost less to maintain, improve safety, and provide a resilient source of power and cost savings to agencies. Wind smart PV systems deliver resilience and support agency missions at a lower levelized cost of energy.

Learning Objective

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

• Learn how to procure a wind smart PV system that is resilient, high performing, and safe to host on site.
• Understand industry-recommended good practices to obtain wind smart solar PV systems.
• Understand the frequency and severity of wind events for a specific site.
• Explore how wind acts upon solar PV systems and the resulting impacts.
• Understand the different wind dynamics between ground, roof, and parking canopies.
• Understand when a wind event is severe enough to be considered a force majeure where resulting damage should be considered a normal outcome.

Accurate and high-quality data is essential for effective fleet management, cost reduction, efficiency improvements, and streamlined reporting. In this workshop, participants will learn to identify common data issues within FAST and explore practical solutions. Attendees will rotate through different breakout rooms, each focused on a key data challenge, engaging in problem-solving discussions and best practices to enhance fleet data automation and reporting.

Learning Objectives

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

• Learn about best practices to streamline and improve data quality in FAST reporting
• Identify common issues within FAST
• Learn about tools and resources to help check FAST data and flag errors efficiently

This webinar will spotlight successful utility energy service contract (UESC) projects that are enabling federal agencies to meet critical statutory and policy goals related to energy resilience and cost efficiency. By leveraging partnerships with serving utilities, federal sites are implementing comprehensive solutions that cut energy waste, improve infrastructure reliability, and reduce operational costs without upfront capital investment. FEMP experts and agency panelists will speak to real-world projects and share best practices, lessons learned, and strategies to replicate success across the federal government.

Learning Objectives

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

• Understand exemplary UESC projects that have strengthened federal site resilience and reduced energy use and costs;
• Demonstrate how UESCs support federal policy and priorities;
• Share strategies for identifying, developing, and executing successful UESCs through real-world agency experiences;
• Reinforce the value of utility partnerships and performance-based contracting in advancing long-term energy and facility management goals.

In this workshop, participants will explore best practices for analyzing fleet utilization and right-sizing using a sample fleet dataset. Using an example fleet dataset, attendees will learn how to identify low-use vehicles and prioritize fleet assets based on data-driven insights. The session will provide a practical framework and best practices for determining which vehicles to flag for potential elimination or downsizing to reduce fleet costs, while still maintaining agency fleet mission requirements.

Learning Objectives

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

• Understand key metrics and thresholds for evaluating fleet utilization and identifying low-use vehicles;
• Apply a step-by-step framework to analyze utilization data and develop right-sizing recommendations that maintain mission readiness;
• Use real-world examples and peer insights to explore common barriers and successful strategies for utilization analysis;
• Interpret and validate data findings by engaging with drivers, custodians, and leadership to support informed decision-making;
• Create an actionable plan for implementing fleet optimization recommendations and communicating them effectively to stakeholders.

Learn about the latest water-conserving technologies and strategies in this interactive session. Speakers will review the most updated product standards, new guidance documents, and emerging research. The connection between water and energy will be emphasized, and savings data from case study projects will be shared. Session attendees will be quizzed on their knowledge of water and depart with a list of measures that will both reduce water consumption and save energy.

Learning Objectives

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

• Identify the latest water conserving technologies and strategies;
• Recognize the most updated product standards, new guidance documents, and emerging research;
• Identify a list of measures that can reduce water consumption and save energy;
• Recognize the connection between water and energy in facilities.

This session will explain how a battery energy storage system (BESS) can be deployed either as a standalone energy storage distributed energy resource or as part of a larger microgrid to address a variety of strategic use cases and goals across diverse federal facilities. Attendees will learn technical and engineering design strategies for sizing a BESS; understand how capital cost, investment, and impact depend on the technical need driving BESS sizing; and understand how the operations and maintenance (O&M) impacts of a BESS depend on the mission and geographic location.

Learning Objectives

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

• Evaluate how battery energy storage systems can support diverse use cases as standalone systems or within microgrids;
• Recognize how technical needs influence BESS capital cost and investment;
• Recognize how O&M impacts vary by mission and location for BESS deployments;
• Identify key technical and design strategies for properly sizing a BESS.

A diverse portfolio of advanced nuclear technologies coupled with integrated energy systems and execution pathways are essential to scaling nuclear energy development. As an emerging market, advanced nuclear energy technologies range in maturity. This is of particular importance considering the types of assets used to produce and deliver reliable electricity to federal critical missions and infrastructure, data centers, and other facilities. This session will focus on suitability analysis, siting, and regulatory pathways specific to the ability to scale nuclear energy options to ensure safe technology applications.

Learning Objectives

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

• Identify the range of advanced nuclear technologies, including micro-reactors and small modular reactors, and their current maturity levels;
• Recognize the strategic importance of advanced nuclear energy for powering federal critical missions and infrastructure;
• Identify the regulatory and execution pathways necessary for scaling new nuclear technologies;
• Evaluate siting criteria and suitability analyses for deploying advanced nuclear systems.