ESC Beginnings

September 10, 2010 - 1:00 PM-2:30 PM ET
Available anytime through our webinar library (see below)

Overview

ESC is delighted to host a webinar bringing together its early founders to share how and why the Energy Services Coalition got started and how it evolved while keeping its mission in focus. It’s been a public-private partnership from the start. ESC’s sole focus has always been on energy performance contracting – breaking down barriers and increasing awareness to increase energy efficiency through performance contracting. Founding a chapter today is very similar to the founding of the organization – public and private participants working on a common mission.

Presented by ESC's Three Co-Founders

In those initial five years after adopting performance contracting for State of Utah facilities, energy improvements totaled almost $66 million with $11.9 million in energy savings.

Mike Glenn
ESC Co-Founder
While serving as director of the Utah Energy Office, Glenn started the public-private partnership concept in Utah as a way to undertake and finance large energy efficiency projects. He helped build the Western Regional Coalition and mold it into the national Energy Services Coalition, served multiple terms as President and Vice President of the Board of Directors, led ESC’s efforts to secure several grants from the U.S. Department of Energy, and influenced many public and private sector professionals to join the growing organization.

During my time in the ESCO industry, I felt that one of the things lacking was the credibility a local, state or federal agency could add. As an industry we did a great job sharing our successes and accomplishments but lacked that all-important cohesiveness. The ESC brought that to the industry. The ESC’s ability to take the industry from a 40,000 foot perspective down to the trenches has been so important to the continued success of ESCOs and affiliates alike. It has been one of the proudest associations of my career and I am happy the ESC continues to prosper.

Bret Hunter
ESC Co-Founder
Formerly representing an energy service company (ESCO), Hunter inspired the public-private partnership concept in Utah along with Glenn, originated the concept of the Western Regional Coalition, helped grow the national Energy Services Coalition, served multiple terms as President of the Board of Directors, and along with Glenn set the tone for the public and private partnership.

With Colorado’s aggressive performance contracting program, back when performance contracting was new to Colorado, I viewed the coalition as a way to learn from ESCOs and others in order to develop new program strategies to increase the acceptance of performance contracting in Colorado. Through the coalition’s peer network of states, states shared program tools and strategies and we all benefitted.

Linda Smith
ESC Co-Founder
As the Sr. Program Manager at the Colorado Governor’s Energy Office, Smith inspired the Utah coalition to expand beyond Utah into Colorado which led Hunter and Glenn to the concept of the Western Regional Coalition. Smith worked with Glenn and Hunter to develop the Western Regional Coalition and later expand it to the Energy Services Coalition, was elected to repeated terms on the Board of Directors and served in the executive positions as Secretary, Vice-President and Acting President. Smith remains active today in the organization.

ESC’s First Executive Director

Our goal was increased energy efficiency implementation by removing the information and knowledge barriers to use of energy saving performance contracting by state and local government agencies.

Michael Arny
ESC Executive Director
Formerly ESC’s Executive Director, Arny interacted with the fledgling Western Regional Coalition in his compatible role as a contractor with the U.S. Department of Energy, volunteered to help grow the organization, was hired as the Western Regional Coalition’s first executive director in 1999, worked to expand the Western Regional Coalition into the highly-functioning national organization of the Energy Services Coalition, provided multiple services to the ESC as an administrator, project manager and outreach liaison through 2003, and continues today as a long-standing ESC member.