Utility Bill Tracking and Reporting – 10 Ways to Save Money and Energy

1. Utility Bill Tracking and Reporting – 10 Ways to Save Money and Energy

2. Abstract Energy, Utility Bill, and Greenhouse Gas Tracking: • Learn how to track your energy usage so that you can better control your costs. Energy usage is becoming a topic of global interest due to issues of emissions and environmental sustainability. Often the largest investments in facility upgrades are motivated by energy efficiency. You need a way to track and verify energy-saving performance of retrofits. Any picture of the total cost of asset ownership and operations is incomplete without energy and utilities. • EnergyCAP by Good Steward Software is a comprehensive energy information program that completes the asset-management picture. Learn the 10 energy-information value streams and find out about the need for comprehensive energy and GHG tracking and reporting as an energy management best practice.

3. Your Energy IQ EnergyCAP Energy Efficiency Software Ten ways to save: Energy-tracking value streams Get a handle on your energy information! Agenda Purpose – Show thatcomprehensive energy and greenhouse gas tracking is an energy management best practice that’s important and valuable.

4. What is your Energy IQ? • How much did you spend on energy in the last fiscal year? • What fraction is that of overall asset management cost? • Negligible • Less than one-tenth • About one-third • Over 50% • Did you spend too much? • vs. the prior year • vs. similar facilities • vs. the budget • vs. national standards (ENERGY STAR…) • Is getting a handle on your energy information worth the effort?

5. Utility bills are a major energy management cost • According to BOMA, which represents 9 billion square feet of buildings, “Energy represents the single largest controllable operating expense for office buildings, typically a third of variable expenses.”

6. Cost of energy to increase • The Energy Information Administration (EIA) of the US Department of Energy recently forecasted that electric bills may increase by 9.8% in 2009!!! • The projected forecast in 2008 was 5.2%.

7. How do you start? When you’re managing multiple properties, this gets tricky. How do you know what you’re spending? How do you start saving?

8. Bad news: Energy is a large expense. Good news: Energy expense is controllable. With the right tools… Energy is a large, controllable expense

9. You need a comprehensive energy/utilities and greenhouse gas tracking and reporting tool. First released in 1982 Has tracked over $10 billion of energy consumption EnergyCAP Energy Efficiency Software

10. One SQL platform for all energy information • Utility bills • Meter interval data • Weather data

11. Easy to Use Layout

12. Flexible reporting and data access structure • Flexible organizational tree • Intuitive navigation • Asset coding scheme can be coordinated with asset mgmt software

13. Drill down to relevant usage and cost data • Drill down to building and meter energy cost and consumption charts • Visual indication of energy problems

14. Benchmarks and rankings • Benchmarking is the #1 tool for spotting abnormal energy usage • Rank similar facilities on use and cost per sq ft • Rank utility accounts on unit cost: same vendor, same rate

15. Rate analysis • “What if” analysis of alternative rate schedules • Verify utility invoices • Identify cost-savings opportunities

16. Accounting interfaces • Big time saver for organizations that pay over hundreds of bills per month • EnergyCAP receives and audits bills, passes to accounts payable system

17. Reports • Hundreds of detail and summary reports • Increases energy awareness

18. Use vs. weather • Is your energy usage weather-sensitive? • Statistical process correlates usage with degree days • Valuable in budgeting and year-to-year comparisons

19. Greenhouse gas tracking and reporting “More than nine out of ten cities consider efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to be part of their broader efforts to address public health concerns,” according to the U.S. Conference of Mayors. • Exploding public interest and awareness • Regulatory actions are already mandating it in some states • Financial trading markets are developing • A future cost or a future revenue opportunity?

20. Ten ways to save • Ten value streams • Which apply to your district?

21. Value 1: Eliminate Billing Errors • A library of 50 audit checks bills for various problems (such as excessively high or low usage, cost, unit cost, demand, etc.) that accounting systems would not catch.

22. Value 2: Fast processing of utility bills • Large districts that receive hundreds of monthly utility invoices can use EnergyCAP to rapidly process bills via manual entry, flat file, or EDI. • One retailer saves $380,000 a year through in-house bill processing and payment!

23. Value 3: Make wise energy procurement decisions • “Customer Choice” programs save money by letting you select the lowest-cost suppliers, generators and producers….but it requires accurate and current energy use data. • EnergyCAP gives you the power of information to make the best choices!

24. Value 4: Campus cost allocation, chargebacks, rebilling • Managing the cost accounting for a large campus system is a complex and difficult task. • EnergyCAP gives you a single tool for submeter readings, “virtual accounts,” application of tariffs, cost allocation and reporting.

25. Value 5: Create accurate budgets • Most budgeting processes lack detailed meter-level data, so accuracy suffers • EnergyCAP budgets meter-by-meter, month-by-month…better budgets mean less guesswork and fewer fiscal emergencies.

26. Value 6: Motivate energy users to conserve • Your dilemma – you have hundreds of switches and thermostats, yet the occupants who control them have no motivation to conserve. • EnergyCAP reports show that energy reduction is important…and that you’re monitoring energy conservation activities.

27. Value 7: Identify hidden control problems • It’s been said, “You can’t manage what you don’t measure.” • EnergyCAP’s 15-minute interval data charts, benchmarks, trends, profiles and comparisons help you to identify and correct inefficient facilities and control systems.

28. Value 8: Track greenhouse gas emissions and credits • The first step is to start tracking the six greenhouse gases and overall CO2. • Emerging financial trading markets may offer unexpected revenue opportunities.

29. Value 9: Measure and verify energy savings projects • Performance Contracting is the preferred method for energy retrofit projects, but not without accurate and timely “cost avoidance” reports. • EnergyCAP has been used since 1985 for performance contracting savings calculations on thousands of buildings!

30. Value 10: Improve accounting, accruals, management • There are essential business processes that rely on accurate and timely energy information • EnergyCAP improves energy-related accounting and overall cost management

31. Conclusion • Energy and utilities bills are the #1 controllable expense in property management and one of the top three variable expenses

32. Conclusion • EnergyCAP is a comprehensive energy information software that’s been the industry leader for twenty-five years