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Best Practice Guide |
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Local Governments |
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Planning an Energy ProgramFirst StepsBefore investing in either energy efficiency or energy conservation measures (EEMs and ECMs), a local government should set up a wider framework for all energy planning and investment. This helps assure that resources invested, such as financial or human, are expended wisely and strategically. The two most critical pieces of such a framework are the appointment of an energy manager and the adoption of an energy management program. An energy manager is responsible for facilitating and coordinating the planning, procurement and utilization of energy resources at a property, facility, or portfolio of properties. In some organizations, the energy manager is a full-time, dedicated position whose responsibilities might encompass a single building or a whole portfolio of properties. In others, energy management is just one part of the responsibilities of a facility or property manager. A background in engineering is common; increasingly, business and communication skills are also required. The energy manager carefully analyzes a company's potential for investment, articulates findings and recommendations to company decision makers, oversees implementation of ECMs and EEMs, and then tracks and quantifies results stemming from the energy management program. In doing so, successful energy managers depend on their relationships with co-workers, such as building staff, business managers and company executives, as well as external partners, such as vendors, contractors, energy service providers and the local utilities. If you think of the energy manager as the conductor of a symphony, then the energy management program is his baton, weaving together a dynamic set of operations, equipment and people into a finely tuned, and well-timed orchestration. The energy management program encompasses a company's energy-related priorities as well as a strategy to attain energy savings (expressed in kilowatt-hours and therms) and energy cost savings (expressed in dollars).
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