42 U.S.C. § 8253 — Energy and water management requirements

(a) Energy performance requirement for Federal buildings — (1) Each agency^* must apply energy conservation measures^* and improve building designs so that, from fiscal years 2006 through 2015, its Federal buildings, including each industrial or laboratory facility, use less energy per square foot than they did in fiscal year 2003. The required cuts grow every year: 2% in 2006, 4% in 2007, 9% in 2008, 12% in 2009, 15% in 2010, 18% in 2011, 21% in 2012, 24% in 2013, 27% in 2014, and 30% in 2015. (2) An agency can leave out buildings with energy-intensive activities, but must list them in its section 8258(a) reports. (3) By December 31, 2014, the Secretary^* had to review how this requirement worked and recommend requirements to Congress for 2016 through 2025.

(b) Energy and water management requirement for Federal agencies — (1) By October 1, 2022, each agency had to start installing, as much as practical, all energy and water conservation measures the Secretary judges life cycle cost^*-effective (defined in subsection (f)(1)) in buildings the government owns, and finish installing them as soon as practical after that. (2) If an agency doesn't comply, it must explain why to the Secretary, using guidelines the Secretary sets; by January 1, 2022, and every two years after, the Secretary must report any agency noncompliance to Congress. (3) This subsection doesn't apply to an agency's power-generating or power-transmitting facilities, or to the Department of Energy's uranium enrichment facilities. (4) An agency may join the EPA's "Green Lights" program for technical help meeting these requirements.

(c) Exclusions — (1)(A) An agency head can exclude a building or group of buildings from the requirements in (a) and (b) if they find that: (i) complying would be impractical; (ii) the agency has filed all required energy or water management reports; (iii) the agency already meets the energy and water efficiency rules in this chapter, the Energy Policy Act of 1992, executive orders, and other federal law; and (iv) the agency has already done every practical, cost-effective project^* for the building being excluded. (B) A finding that compliance is "impracticable" must be based on either (i) how energy- or water-intensive the building's activities are, or (ii) the building being used for a national security function. (2) Agencies must list excluded buildings in their section 8258(a) reports. The Secretary reviews these exclusions for consistency with the standards in paragraph (1) and can reverse one within 90 days of learning about it; if reversed, the agency must then comply with subsections (a) and (b)(1) for that building. (3) Within 180 days of August 8, 2005, the Secretary had to issue guidelines setting the criteria for these exclusions.

(d) Implementation steps — The Secretary must consult the Secretary of Defense and the GSA Administrator^* when writing implementation guidelines. To meet this section's requirements, each agency must: (1) by December 31, 1993, submit a plan to the Secretary describing how it will meet the requirements, including how it will (A) name the staff responsible, (B) find high-priority projects by calculating payback periods, (C) make the most of contracts authorized under subchapter VII, utility financial incentives and services, and other financing, to lower direct costs to the government, and (D) otherwise carry out this part; (2) survey its buildings' energy and water use as needed and update the surveys, using relevant results from the section 8258b survey; (3) use those surveys to work out the cost and payback period of likely conservation measures; (4) install conservation measures using the methods set under section 8254; and (5) keep up the operation and maintenance procedures used under this section.

(e) Metering of energy and water use — (1) By October 1, 2022, following guidelines the Secretary sets under paragraph (2), every federal building^* must be metered, to help use energy and water efficiently and cut electricity and water costs. Agencies must use, as much as practical, advanced meters that give data at least daily and measure electricity and water use at least hourly. By October 1, 2016, agencies also had to meter natural gas and steam the same way. This metering data must feed into existing federal energy and water tracking systems and be available to facility managers.
(2) Guidelines — (A) Within 180 days of August 8, 2005, the Secretary, after consulting the Defense Department, GSA, and representatives from the metering, utility, energy services, and energy efficiency industries, efficiency advocacy groups, national laboratories, universities, and facility managers, had to set guidelines for agencies to carry out paragraph (1). (B) These guidelines had to (i) weigh the cost of metering against expected savings, the potential for better energy and water management and savings, the cost and energy and water savings due to utility contract aggregation, and Department of Energy measurement protocols; (ii) recommend how much funding and how many trained staff are needed; (iii) set priorities for which buildings get metered first, and set a schedule of one or more dates, no later than one year after the guidelines came out, on which the requirements would take effect; and (iv) exclude buildings, processes, or structures with only minimal energy or water use. (C) Within 180 days of December 27, 2020, the Secretary had to update these guidelines to also cover water efficiency.
(3) Plan — Within 180 days of that (2)(C) update, each agency, in a report filed under section 8258(a), must submit a plan for carrying out paragraph (1), including (A) who is responsible, and (B) documented proof for any finding that advanced meters aren't practical.
(4) Best practices^* report — (A) Within 180 days of December 27, 2020, the Secretary of Energy, with the Secretary of Defense and GSA, had to write and issue a report on best practices for advanced metering of energy and water in federal facilities. (B) That report had to include (i) summaries and analysis of agencies' paragraph (3) plans; (ii) recommendations on standard requirements for automated energy and water management systems, including common communication standards, ways to keep up continuous commissioning and evidence-based maintenance, and cybersecurity standards to stop unauthorized control; and (iii) an analysis of the advanced metering systems being tried or installed in federal buildings and of techniques used outside the federal government.

(f) Use of energy and water efficiency measures in Federal buildings — (1) Definitions used in this subsection: "Commissioning" means a systematic process — from the start of a facility's design through at least a year after construction^* finishes — of checking, with proper verification and paperwork, that all the facility's systems work together the way they were designed to and the way the owner^* needs, including training the operating staff, with the main goal of fully working systems that can be properly run and kept up for the facility's life. An "energy manager" is the person responsible for following this subsection and cutting a facility's energy use; this can be a contractor, a part-time employee, or someone in charge of several facilities. A "facility" is any federally owned or leased building, installation, structure, or other property, including a group of facilities managed together and contractor-run facilities the government owns; it does not include land where the government doesn't pay the utility bill. A measure is "life cycle cost-effective" if its estimated savings, figured out under section 8254, are more than its estimated costs over its life. "Ongoing commissioning" is a continuing process, using monitored data, meant to keep a facility working at its best over its life. The "payback period" is a measure's setup cost (not counting financing costs) divided by its yearly savings — net energy and water cost savings plus operations, maintenance, repair, and replacement savings; the Secretary can adjust how this is calculated. "Recommissioning" means commissioning a facility again after its original construction and warranty period, to keep it working at its best. "Retrocommissioning" means commissioning a facility or system that was never commissioned when it was built.
(2) Facility energy managers — (A) Each agency must name an energy manager for every facility that meets the criteria in (B). (B) The Secretary must set criteria covering, at minimum, facilities — including central utility plants, distribution systems, and other energy-intensive operations — that make up at least 75% of an agency's energy or water use. (C) Each energy manager must consider using an energy and water management system and whether ISO standard 50001 certification fits the facility.
(3) Energy and water evaluations and commissioning — (A) Starting within 180 days of December 27, 2020, and every year after, each energy manager must fully evaluate and recommission or retrocommission about 25% of the agency's covered facilities each year, so that every facility gets evaluated at least once every four years. (B) A facility doesn't need this evaluation if, at the time it would happen, it: (i) had a full evaluation within the last 8 years; (ii) was commissioned, recommissioned, or retrocommissioned within the last 10 years, or is undergoing ongoing commissioning; (iii) hasn't had a major change in function or use since its last evaluation; (iv) was publicly benchmarked under paragraph (8) within the last year; and (v) either, based on that benchmarking, has achieved at the facility level the most recent cumulative energy savings target under subsection (a), compared with the earlier of the date of the most recent evaluation or the date of the most recent commissioning, recommissioning, or retrocommissioning or the date on which ongoing commissioning began, or has a long-term contract guaranteeing savings at least as large as that target.
(4) Implementation of identified energy and water efficiency measures — (A) Within 2 years of finishing an evaluation, each energy manager must put in place any energy- or water-saving measure the evaluation identified that is life cycle cost-effective, whether judged alone or as part of a bundle. (B) Each agency must use performance contracting for at least half of the identified measures.
(5) Follow-up on implemented measures — For each measure installed, the energy manager must make sure (A) equipment is fully commissioned and working at its design specs when accepted; (B) a plan for proper operation, maintenance, and repair is in place and followed; (C) equipment and system performance is tracked over its whole life; and (D) energy and water savings are measured and verified.
(6) Guidelines — (A) The Secretary must issue guidelines for carrying out paragraphs (2) and (3) within 180 days of December 19, 2007, and for paragraphs (4) and (5) within one year of that date. (B) These guidelines must match each type of funding available under paragraph (10), but can vary by measure type, project size, and other relevant factors.
(7) Web-based certification — (A) For each covered facility, the energy manager must use the web-based tracking system in (B) to certify compliance with the evaluation, implementation, and follow-up requirements in paragraphs (3), (4), and (5), and to publish the facility's energy and water use data. (B) Within one year of December 19, 2007, the Secretary had to build and launch this tracking system, covering, at minimum, which facilities are covered, their compliance status, cost and savings estimates, measured savings, and benchmarking data; the Secretary must also make compliance as easy as possible, using streamlined procedures and coordinating with other reporting requirements. (C) The Secretary must make the tracking system public over the internet for Congress, other agencies, and the public, but may exempt specific facility data from disclosure for national security reasons if an agency asks.
(8) Benchmarking of Federal facilities — (A) The energy manager must enter energy use data for each metered covered building into a benchmarking system, such as the Energy Star Portfolio Manager. (B) Within one year of December 19, 2007, the Secretary had to pick or build a benchmarking system for each building type and issue guidance on using it. (C) Each energy manager must post this benchmarking information on the web-based tracking system, updating it every year and keeping past years' data so performance changes can be tracked over time.
(9) Federal agency scorecards — (A) The OMB Director must issue scorecards twice a year on each agency's energy and water management activities, summarizing how the agency and its energy managers are meeting the requirements, plus any other performance measures the Director thinks fit. (B) The Director must make these scorecards public over the internet.
(10) Funding and implementation — (A) Congress authorized whatever money is needed to carry out this subsection. (B) An agency may use any mix of appropriated funds and private financing — such as energy savings performance contracts or utility energy service contracts — including combining both to pay for the same measure. (C) An agency may carry out these requirements itself or contract out some or all of the work.
(11) Rule of construction — This subsection doesn't require, or rule out, contractor savings guarantees.

(g) Large capital energy investments — (1) Each agency must make sure that any large capital energy investment in an existing building — one that isn't a major renovation but does replace equipment like heating and cooling systems, or that renovates, rehabilitates, expands, or remodels existing space — uses the most energy-efficient, life cycle cost-effective designs, systems, equipment, and controls. (2) Within 180 days of December 19, 2007, each agency had to set up a process for reviewing these investment decisions and report that process to the OMB Director. (3) Within one year of December 19, 2007, the OMB Director had to evaluate and report to Congress on how well each agency was complying with this subsection.

(h) Federal implementation strategy for energy-efficient and energy-saving information technologies — (1) "Director" means the OMB Director; "information technology" has the meaning given in section 11101 of title 40. (2) Within one year of December 27, 2020, each agency had to work with the Director, the Secretary, and the EPA Administrator to build an implementation strategy — with best practices and ways to measure and verify results — for maintaining, buying, and using energy-efficient information technology at its facilities, taking into account the performance goals set under paragraph (4). (3) In building that strategy, agencies had to consider (A) advanced metering infrastructure; (B) energy-efficient data center strategies and better use of assets and infrastructure; (C) advanced power management tools; (D) building information modeling, including energy management; (E) secure telework and travel-substitution tools; and (F) ways to make sure the agency actually captures the cost savings from being more efficient. (4) Performance goals — (A) within 180 days of December 27, 2020, the Director, with the Secretary, had to set performance goals for judging how well agencies improve their energy-efficient information technology; (B) the Chief Information Officers Council, set up under section 3603 of title 44, had to recommend best practices for meeting those goals, including — where the law allows — considering energy savings performance contracting and utility energy services contracting. (5) Reports — (A) each agency must describe its efforts and results under this subsection in its report under section 17143; (B) starting no later than October 1, 2022, the Director must describe agencies' efforts and results in the annual report and scorecard required under section 17144; and (C) the Director may have agencies submit this information using reporting structures already in place as of December 27, 2020.

(i) Federal Energy Management Program — (1) The Secretary must run a program, called the "Federal Energy Management Program," to help the federal government carry out cost-effective energy and water management and energy-related investment practices, in order to (A) coordinate and strengthen federal energy and water resilience, (B) promote environmental stewardship, and (C) cut energy use during periods of unusually high electricity or natural gas demand. (2) The Secretary must appoint a "Federal Director^*" — a career Senior Executive Service position — to run the Program.
(3) Program activities — (A) Strategic planning and technical assistance: the Federal Director must (i) give agencies technical help and guidance to identify, install, buy, and track energy and water conservation measures required by this chapter and other laws; (ii) work with GSA to set procedures and best practices for agencies managing utility incentive program contracts under section 8256(c); (iii) carry out the Secretary's duties under section 8287 as the Secretary decides is appropriate; (iv) keep up internet-based information and project-tracking tools for energy and water management; (v) coordinate strategic energy and water resilience planning across agencies; (vi) run a recognition program, including award ceremonies and public announcements, for federal achievement in energy and water management, investment practices, and environmental stewardship; and (vii) promote installing demand-response technology and using demand-response practices in federal buildings.
(B) Energy and water management and reporting: the Federal Director must (i) track and report on agencies' progress meeting this section's requirements; (ii) make agency performance data public under this section and sections 8254, 8256, 8257, and 8258, and under section 15852; (iii) collect energy and water use data from each agency and, based on that data, send each agency a report to help its energy and water management, investment practices, and environmental stewardship; (iv) carry out the Secretary's duties under section 6834; (v) work with GSA's Office of High-Performance Green Buildings to set sustainable design principles for federal facilities; and (vi) designate products meeting the highest conservation standards for categories the Energy Star program (section 6294a) doesn't already cover.
(C) Federal interagency coordination: the Federal Director must (i) build accredited training — in-person, online, and at national events — on energy and water use, management, and resilience, investment practices, and environmental stewardship; (ii) carry out the Secretary's role with the Interagency Energy Management Task Force under section 8257; and (iii) report on carrying out the President's priorities, including executive orders, on federal energy and water use, coordinating with the Office of Management and Budget, the Council on Environmental Quality, and any other group the Federal Director thinks is needed.
(D) Facility and fleet optimization: the Federal Director must give guidance to, help, and track agencies' progress on (i) planning energy and water resilience and project integration across their whole facility portfolio; (ii) meeting sustainable design and energy and water performance standards in new construction and major renovations; (iii) developing guidelines for facility commissioning and for facility operations and maintenance; and (iv) working with GSA to meet statutory and agency goals for federal fleet vehicles.
(4) Management council — The Federal Director must set up a council to advise them, which must (A) meet at least once every quarter, and (B) include representatives from the Council on Environmental Quality, the Office of Management and Budget, and GSA's Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings^*.
(5) Authorization of appropriations — Congress authorized $36,000,000 for the Secretary, for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025, to run this subsection.