Utilities, Municipalities and Energy Specialists

By Transmission2011 [CC BY 3.0 , from Wikimedia Commons]

Practical energy knowledge includes the ability to measure energy use. In this regard, natural gas, electric utilities, and municipalities often provide incentives to conserve energy, as there are substantial costs involved with providing and maintaining energy supply infrastructure, and wasting energy benefits no one. Besides being “the right thing to do” in terms of reducing carbon emissions, energy efficiency and energy cost reductions support conventional business and financial goals. These are important factors in calculating return on investment, and predicting longer-term operation and maintenance costs.

Energy specialists’ work involves promoting energy awareness, measuring energy consumption, developing energy saving strategies, and communicating plans and actions. Some of the tasks include:

• Gathering information to compare pricing structure
• Developing strategies to motivate owners and stakeholders
• Identifying and quantifying the financial benefits of energy conservation
• Establishing priorities and energy goals
• Analyzing utility bills for accuracy, trends, and opportunities (Utility bills not only indicate the amount of money owed and energy consumed, they also provide useful information for tracking trends, identifying “leaks” and comparing to baseline use models.)

Building-based Energy and Resource Management programs at Douglas College