Message From the Chair

When Secretary O’Leary asked me to chair the Privatization Working Group, I knew we could only succeed with a diverse and dedicated DOE team and substantial stakeholder input. We assembled such a team and solicited a great deal of expert comment. The results are contained in this report—an indepth analysis of the major issues that surround privatization within the Department of Energy. The report, however, is more than analysis. It includes the results of a survey of the entire DOE system that identifies more than 200 potential privatization opportunities.

The report also includes 13 case studies that explore actual DOE privatization efforts over the past 2 years. Additionally, it summarizes the key legal authorities that govern each of the three types of privatization opportunities in the Department.

Dan W. Reicher

The report makes a series of recommendations and outlines accompanying actions that will help the Department seize the opportunities presented by privatization and confront its challenges. As the report stresses, when wisely considered and carefully implemented, privatization is a powerful strategic management tool that can remove the Department from activities that are not inherently governmental functions or core business lines; improve the management of remaining activities; reduce the costs of doing business; and shift greater performance and financial risk to the private sector. But the report also emphasizes that privatization is only a management tool, not a substitute for good management.

I want to thank the members of the Privatization Working Group for their extraordinary efforts over the past year. They did the heavy lifting for this report and for much of the Department’s privatization efforts over the past 2 years. In particular, I want to thank Kim Kendall for her tireless efforts at all levels to ensure the success of this project. On behalf of the group, I urge a sustained but careful commitment to privatization in the Department of Energy.

Dan W. Reicher

Chief of Staff