ESCOs and In–house Energy Managers: A Winning Team

Abstract

ABSTRACT Over past 25+ years, energy service companies (ESCOs) have emerged as a successful way of carrying out energy efficiency improvements in industrial and institutional facilities. At the same time, facilities are entrusting their energy manager (EM) with the responsibility of reducing energy costs without fail However, this is often not accompanied by investment capital or people support from management, or at least not in proportion to the task assignment. One channel of supporting the EM is through use of ESCOs in forming a “partnering” arrangement to reduce both facility operating costs as well as provide for infrastructure needs without new capital outlay approvals by the corporation, and doing this rapidly. To make this partnership a success, EMs and ESCOs need to complement each other by bringing their respective strengths to bear on a potential energy cost savings project. The EMs can help in optimizing project planning and the swift corporate approval process, and the ESCO can bring focused expertise at practical energy efficiency opportunities suited to the client, and a keen focus on swiftly completing measures for the mutual benefit of the owner and the ESCO. This article addresses the EM/ESCO partnership, along with a recent successful case study.