Electric Power Research Institute Inc.

Electric Power Research Institute Inc., the nation's largest independent energy research nonprofit headquartered in Palo Alto, California, delivers technical research, data programs, and consulting services to federal agencies as a prime contractor (81% of recent awards) and federal grant recipient, competing exclusively in full-and-open procurements with no set-aside designations. EPRI operates a $360 million GSA Federal Supply Schedule contract (MAS) with 27 labor categories spanning technical assistant through senior director of research and development (hourly rates $115.80 to $548.75, no security-cleared roles), alongside single-award indefinite delivery contracts with the Department of Energy Office of Fossil Energy ($4 million ceiling through December 2028) and the Bureau of Reclamation ($733,815 ceiling through December 2028) that grant access to EPRI's portfolio of over 200 proprietary technical data programs.

EPRI's federal customer base spans 42 distinct agencies with concentration in the Department of Energy and its component offices. The Department of Energy Office of Fossil Energy leads by award count at 96 awards ($19.6 million combined potential value), followed by generic DOE awards (54 awards), the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (51 awards), and the Tennessee Valley Authority (24 awards). By dollar value, the DOE National Nuclear Security Administration ranks highest at $22.7 million across 3 awards, with the Office of Nuclear Energy at $21.4 million across 11 awards and Office of Fossil Energy at $19.6 million. Recent representative work includes a $3.35 million Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Other Transaction Agreement for the Bus Based Local Attack Detection and Elimination (BLADE) cybersecurity program through January 2028, a $36.034 million Department of Energy Grid Infrastructure Deployment and Resilience grant to optimize interregional transfer capacity using advanced power flow control (October 2024–September 2029), a $5.583 million Department of Energy Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response cooperative agreement to develop automated device vulnerability exploitation and defensive impact analysis (October 2024–September 2027), and $2.65 million Department of Homeland Security contract for evaluation and assessment of 5G system vulnerabilities to early-time high-altitude electromagnetic pulse transient fields (December 2023–January 2027).

Work centers on energy systems research, grid modernization, renewable energy integration, fossil and nuclear power technologies, advanced manufacturing, carbon capture and storage, cybersecurity for critical infrastructure, climate resilience, and wildlife impact mitigation. EPRI delivers both membership access to its technical data programs (typical Bureau of Reclamation and Department of Energy awards) and applied research and demonstration work. Recent contract work includes Department of Energy Office of Fossil Energy delivery orders for technical data program access in areas such as bulk energy storage, gas turbine advanced components, carbon capture and storage, and process control and automation. Grant-side work is concentrated in clean energy transition, industrial decarbonization, and grid security; representative cooperative agreements include projects on direct air capture hub development, hydrogen-blend combined cycle gas turbine digital twins with carbon capture, renewable energy ancillary services acceleration, offshore wind risk assessment, hydropower fish passage systems, cold-climate heat pump deployment, and geothermal district heating retrofits in disadvantaged communities. EPRI also conducts environmental and sustainability research, including bat deterrent testing at wind turbines and solar photovoltaic circularity initiatives.

Activity levels have grown from 26 awards in 2022 to 37 in 2024, with a modest slowdown to 17 awards in 2025 and 5 in early 2026 (source snapshot date July 2026). Eighteen awards face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months with combined potential value of $6.5 million, creating modest recompete exposure. Top parent vehicles include three single-award Department of Energy Fossil Energy IDVs (89243318DFE000009 with 12 task orders at $2.6 million, 89243321DFE000016 with 7 task orders at $1.8 million, and 89243324DFE000023 with 5 task orders at $1 million). EPRI operates 81% of its recent awards as prime; in its subcontractor role (19% of awards), EPRI partners with Fluor Marine Propulsion on Naval Nuclear Laboratory management and operation support, with Applied Research Associates on operational readiness code development, with Leidos on database-centric code development for nuclear detonation effects modeling, and with Concurrent Technologies Corporation on microgrid demonstration and flight charging infrastructure. SCI-reported invoicing totaled $6 million across FY2022–FY2024 (FY2024: $3 million with 2.9 contract-level FTEs), with median government-paid rates around $471.97 per hour and senior technical labor pricing through $798.52 per hour; across SCI-reportable prime contracts, subcontractors performed an average of 25% of contractor hours, with 4 named subcontractors reported in the dataset.