N.C. State Energy Office

The Utility Savings Initiative for State Facilities was created in 2002. The State Energy Office was tapped by the Governor’s Office to guide agencies in their efforts and to administer the program. The program tasks each state agency and public university with reducing energy consumption by at least 20% within five years, for an average of 4% per year. This is accomplished through concentrating efforts in four key areas:
• Utility accounting- this includes reviewing and tracking monthly utility bills, resolving billing errors, negotiating and optimizing rates, and analyzing supplier quality and reliability.
• Operations and maintenance- as the demand side component of the initiative, this includes performing facility and equipment surveys to identify areas of opportunity, then securing resources to perform corrective and preventative maintenance.
• Performance contracting- provides the means to accomplish large capital projects by using the realized energy savings to finance the project.
• Awareness and training- involves training of facilities and operations staff on best practices through workshops and agency liaisons.

Agencies are required to appoint a liaison to work with the State Energy Office. The Office then provides the liaisons with the tools and knowledge necessary to perform their work. All liaisons are trained in the preparation of an energy management plan. Each plan must outline procedures to engage all staff, students and faculty in the effort to save energy.

Once the energy management plan is created, baselines are established and key performance indicators are identified for tracking progress. Energy consumption is indexed by gross square foot where appropriate, though agencies are encouraged to use a different indicator if gross square footage does not adequately reflect their energy usage.

An energy mandate is also created and signed by facilities directors and senior administrators agreeing to the 20% reduction goal. Senior level buy-in and employee education is the key to getting constituents to realize the long-term benefits of the program and accordingly modify behavior.

Conservation Awareness Teams are created at each agency and university to assist liaisons with marketing the program to its constituents.

The Utility Savings Initiative is the nation’s first program of its kind. No other government entity is known to have created an efficiency program that comprehensively addresses utility accounting, operations and maintenance, performance contracting, and awareness and training in order to save taxpayer dollars and conserve the environment.

In 2002-03, 46 agencies signed on for the program, creating their energy management plans and establishing their baseline measurements. While many agencies were initially wary of the upfront costs of identified efficiency improvements, they were reassured that the savings realized would more than make up for the investments over the long run. Program participation at this point is 100% of all state agencies. The initiative is currently being expanded to involve the North Carolina Community College system.

Through fiscal year 2005-06, participating agencies lowered energy consumption by an average of 4% per year for a total of more than $62 million in avoided utility costs. Average building energy use has fallen from 149,000 BTUs per square foot to 135,000 BTUs per square foot.

* as a state, North Carolina’s revenues are well above the lower limit for the Galaxy tier; however, this initiative is not part of a for-profit business.