The General Services Administration expects to save around $4 million annually on energy costs by using reverse online auctions, according to Federal News Radio.
Robert Zarnetske, the GSA’s New England region administrator, told Federal News Radio the agency initially identifies and collects information on federal government properties in corresponding geographical regions.
GSA then bundles similar properties together and advertise them as a package through an online auction. During the auction, energy contractors can bid on dollar amounts they are willing to accept to provide electricity for each property unit.
“Basically, we’re talking about a ‘reverse e-Bay for electricity,’ if you will,” Zarnetske said.
Energy providers that participate in the auctions can get guaranteed government contracts. In addition, the predictability of energy consumption helps contractors determine how much they will accept to supply the properties.
“Once they’ve offered up their best price, and they’ve already determined what the price point is where they’re going to make a profit, because we give them the information about what the anticipated consumption is going to be,†Zarnetske said.
