On the heels of a plethora of announcements about products to make data centers more energy-efficient, technology companies including Google, IBM, Microsoft, Cisco, Sun Microsystems and Hewlett-Packard met with federal regulators to discuss fears that volatile and expensive energy could hinder the tech sector, Sillicon Valley reports.

The U.S. Department of Energy, which measures power use in various industries, hopes to learn from the companies, and to design guidelines for building efficient facilities and technology, said Andrew Karsner, assistant secretary of energy efficiency and renewable energy for the department. He also is considering eventually auditing energy use in technology facilities, much like the department’s audits of steel and paper plants.

“I think we may be at the beginning of a potential energy crisis for the IT sector,” Victor Varney, a vice president for Silicon Graphics, told the regulators.