The base was built more than 80 years ago, and, like many federal facilities, the mechanical systems have not always been optimally maintained or operated. In addition to aging equipment, years of deferred maintenance and budget cuts have resulted in equipment that doesn't work properly, system-wide decay, and central plants that are beyond capacity.
Upgrading all of Fort Bragg's mechanical systems at one time would be extremely expensive, so a decision was made in the late 1990s to phase in new equipment and systems through performance contracting. To that end, Fort Bragg's Directorate of Public Works (DPW) devised a unique public-private energy services team structure to aggressively manage the energy supplied to the base and to implement projects that would maximize efficiency and reliability.