Should Federal Agencies Develop Strategies to Reduce Their Energy Usage? (H.R. 1420)

What is H.R. 1420?

(Updated November 10, 2019)

This bill — the Energy Efficient Government Technology Act — would require federal agencies to coordinate with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Dept. of Energy (DOE), and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the development of an implementation strategy for the maintenance, purchase, and use of energy efficiency and energy savings information technology. Such technologies and practices would include advanced metering infrastructure, efficient data center strategies, improving IT asset utilization levels, building energy management, and secure telework and travel substitution tools. 

Each federal agency would also be required to compile a report describing its efforts to reduce energy use in its data centers and computing infrastructure. The DOE would ultimately be responsible for developing a metric to gauge efficiency and implementing "an open data initiative" to share best practices among agencies.

Argument in favor

The federal government, as the largest energy consumer in the U.S., needs to be as efficient as possible to save taxpayer dollars and the environment. This bill would provide federal agencies with the tools they need to run their data centers more efficiently.

Argument opposed

The Dept. of Energy’s Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) already helps federal agencies reduce their energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. A new interagency program on this issue isn’t needed.

Impact

Federal agencies; federal agencies’ energy usage; OMB; DOE; EPA; and federal agency strategies to reduce energy use in their data centers and computing infrastructure.

Cost of H.R. 1420

In 2016, the CBO estimated that implementing this legislation would cost less than $500,000 in any given year.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA) introduced this legislation to direct the Executive branch to harness information and communications technologies to improve energy efficiency and reduce energy use within the federal government: 

“As the nation’s largest energy user, landowner, and employer, the federal government should lead by example to improve the energy efficiency of its technology equipment and data centers. This legislation will reduce the federal government’s energy use, save taxpayer dollars, and set the standard for the private sector. I’m pleased to see this important policy once again pass the House, and I look forward to its swift consideration in the Senate.”

This legislation has five bipartisan cosponsors, including three Republicans and two Democrats, in the current Congress and hasn’t received a committee vote. In the 115th Congress, it passed the House by voice vote with one Republican cosponsor, Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL). 

Of Note: Bill Kleyman, a contributor to TechTarget, points out, “You can't effectively manage what you can't monitor. The only way to run a properly optimized data center is to have a solid monitoring platform designed for your environment." An effective monitoring platform can help identify zombie services, inefficient equipment, and total energy consumption.

Data centers account for almost 2% of all U.S. electricity consumption and 10% of the federal government’s electricity usage. In 2017, the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions estimated that widespread adoption of energy-efficient information technologies, including energy solutions at the more than 2,000 federal data centers, could save the federal government more than $5 billion in energy costs through 2020.

The DOE’s Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) plays a critical role in reducing energy use and increasing federal agencies’ renewable energy. Since 1975, the federal government has decreased the energy intensity of its buildings by more than 40%. FEMP’s goals include helping agencies reduce GHG emissions by 40% by fiscal year 2025 compared to fiscal year 2008 and ensure that at least 30% of federal electricity consumption is generated from renewable sources by 2025.

FEMP provides agencies and organizations the information, tools, and assistance they need to achieve their energy-related requirements and goals. This includes helping federal agencies with project financing mechanisms, including energy-saving performance contracts (ESPCs). In an ESPC, a contractor pays the up-front cost of improvements and is repaid through a portion of the energy savings.

Media:

• Sponsoring Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA) Press Release
  
• CBO Cost Estimate (2016)
  
• Geist
  
• VAR Insights
  
• Energy Manager Today