The U.S. General Services Administration on Jan. 2 announced a historic long-term purchase of electricity in an agreement with Constellation New Energy Inc.
“The purchase marks GSA’s first long-term, multi-agency purchase of electricity, a portion of which is bundled CFE [carbon pollution-free electricity], and will increase resilience and reliability for federal agencies while protecting against price increases,” GSA said. This energy procurement is the largest in GSA history. GSA estimates that it will comprise over 10 million megawatt-hours over the contract’s ten-year term.
The procurement will deliver electricity to 80 federal facilities located throughout the territory of PJM Interconnection.
GSA said the procurement is modeled on state-of-the-art long-term CFE procurement methods pioneered by large private-sector corporate clean energy buyers.
“This historic procurement locks in a cost-competitive, reliable supply of nuclear energy over a 10-year period, accelerating progress toward a carbon-free energy future while protecting taxpayers against future price hikes,” said GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan. “We’re demonstrating how the federal government can join major corporate clean energy buyers in spurring new nuclear energy capacity and ensuring a reliable, affordable supply of clean energy for everyone.”
“In the face of uncertainty over future electricity prices and increasing electricity demand from data centers and AI facilities, for instance, this contract provides federal agencies with budgetary stability and protections from future price increases by keeping their electricity costs fixed for 10 years, while also continuing to bolster the domestic nuclear industry,” GSA said.
The contract will enable Constellation to extend the licenses of existing nuclear plants and invest in new equipment and technology that will increase output by approximately 135 carbon-free megawatts.
GSA will purchase 2.4 million megawatt-hours of this new nuclear capacity (together with the associated Energy Attribute Certificates) over the life of the 10-year contract.
Together with CFE already on the electrical grid, the purchase will enable the agencies covered in the procurement to transition to 100% carbon pollution-free electricity by 2030.
The procurement will supply power to GSA and 13 additional entities, including the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Architect of the Capitol, the Department of Transportation, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, the National Archives and Records Administration, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Park Service, the Social Security Administration, the Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Mint, and the Railroad Retirement Board.
The contract is set to begin April 2025.
