Questions & Answers

Ohio State Energy Partners is the company created specifically to serve the Ohio State University community. The two partners – ENGIE North America and Axium Infrastructure – are both global leaders in energy services and sustainability. The partners have contracted with ENGIE Services to operate the systems that heat, cool and distribute power to the Columbus campus.

In conjunction with the university, the partnership is responsible for operating and maintaining the university’s utility system for 50 years and helping Ohio State achieve its energy efficiency goals.

During that time, the university will pay a monthly utility fee to the partnership for its services. The partnership will also provide $150 million for an academic collaboration program, including establishment of the Energy Advancement and Innovation Center.

A summary of the concession agreement can be found on Ohio State’s website.

The Ohio State University agreement is a first in North America and perhaps in the world because of its integrated nature of the services and solutions to be delivered, in order to achieve the university’s energy efficiency and operations objectives while supporting its academic mission. These services and solutions include distribution, optimization and reduction of use, asset management and expansion of the network.

A long-term agreement is essential for capital-intense public-private contracts so that all parties may take a long-term, holistic approach to planning and investments.

The university has set a number of sustainability goals that go beyond energy use to include other kinds of resource stewardship, teaching and learning, research and innovation and engagement with the community.

In addition to supporting the university’s academic mission, this ground-breaking partnership will also help to advance Ohio State’s sustainability goals. Overall, the aim is to improve the energy efficiency of the more than 400 buildings on the university’s Columbus campus, create substantial academic benefits and establish a major center for energy research and technology commercialization. There are three components:

• Conservation: The partnership will propose, provide the capital funding for and implement energy conservation measures to improve Ohio State’s sustainability. During the first 10 years of the agreement, the partnership is required to meet the university’s goal of a 25 percent improvement in energy efficiency on the Columbus campus.
• Supply: The partnership will work to enhance Ohio State’s effectiveness in the procurement process for electricity, natural gas and other energy sources.
• Operations: The partnership will operate the systems that power, heat and cool Ohio State’s Columbus campus.

Academics: In addition to its $1.015 billion upfront payment to the university, the partnership will fund and carry out a $150 million commitment to support academics in specific areas requested by students, faculty and staff during the bidding process. Among these projects are a $50 million research hub and support for scholarships, internships, faculty and students

Ohio State Energy Partners will collaborate with Ohio State to develop an energy conservation measures (ECM) plan focused on innovation, efficiency, and social responsibility for Ohio State, which the university will approve before implementation.

No, Ohio State will continue to purchase its electricity and natural gas supplies from the competitive retail markets and regulated tariffs as it has done for many years. The partnership will advise the university as to its options for electricity and natural gas procurement, including the potential further implementation of wind, solar, geothermal, and other technologies, but Ohio State will retain the right to decide which type of energy to purchase or technology to install. The partnership is committed to using its energy procurement expertise to help reduce the university’s electricity and natural gas expenses.

The university has consolidated energy purchases for all campuses, so all campuses will benefit from the partners’ support in the procurement of electricity, natural gas or other energy sources. Ohio State will continue to contract directly with suppliers, with the help of the partnership. The partnership also will provide recommendations regarding energy efficiency improvements on Ohio State’s regional campuses.

Ohio State Energy Partners paid the university $1.015 billion, to support the university’s academic priorities.  

In addition, the partnership made specific commitments in its $150 million academic collaboration proposal for a $50 million energy innovation center, faculty positions, additional student financial aid, internships, sustainability, staff development, and philanthropic support to university organizations.

ENGIE Services offered employment to the existing utilities division at Ohio State and many of the staff accepted new employment with ENGIE. The university also offered all employees the option to remain employed by Ohio State, at the same compensation, prior to the partnership.

The partnership is responsible for service within the contiguous Columbus campus, and does not include regional campuses, The Ohio State University Airport, The Ohio State University Golf Club, or other locales outside of the contiguous Columbus campus.

As was the case before the transition, any customer service requests for campus buildings will be handled by the university’s Service2Facilities group, which can be reached via email (service2facilities@osu.edu) or by phone (614-292-HELP). All individual building operations will continue to be the responsibility of campus maintenance teams.

Internship positions are located at the ENGIE office in McCracken Power Plant on Ohio State University’s Columbus campus. We hire a total of 10 interns annually. Internship positions extend from May to September and from October to April. Internships require a minimum commitment of 10 hours per week. Pay is $21.50/hour.

Internships are rotational and typical positions include:

• GIS
• Project management
• ECM
• Marketing
• Finance
• IT
• Automation
• Project engineering
• Contracts
• High voltage
• Construction management

To apply for one of our internships, please visit handshake.osu.edu.

No, ENGIE Services performs a variety of functions across disciplines. The internship program seeks students with diverse academic interests and backgrounds, and of course shared passions for sustainability and Ohio State.