The New Role of the Energy Manager

Abstract

Companies in the commercial and institutional fields are always looking for ways to reduce costs and increase profits. In recent years, top-level executives have asked energy managers to find ways to cut operating costs by improving the energy efficiency of their facilities. One stimulus for establishing energy management programs is the persistently increasing price of electricity experienced in many areas. The electric bills of a poorly managed facility can make a serious dent in corporate profits. Furthermore, deregulation of the electric industry, which is occurring or being considered in many states, will make it more difficult for companies to forecast their energy expenses in the near term. This article reviews the new complexities with which energy managers must now work. Many technological advancements have emerged that provide a wide range of options to the energy manager to reduce the energy consumption and its corresponding cost. Highly efficient equipment and lighting, viable gas powered alternative equipment, and automated energy management control systems are a few examples of this technology. One might ask why, if the technology is available to significantly cut the energy cost of operating a commercial facility, changes are not made to facilities, or why are new facilities are built with less than the best energy management equipment. The answer is that there are barriers to these changes, the most significant one being economic. Even when energy inefficient equipment and systems reach their end-of-life, the replacement systems are usually chosen based upon the lowest first cost rather than those which are the most energy efficient. This article focuses on the economic factors confronting energy managers and discusses strategies to control energy prices and to control energy usage to achieve the most favorable energy investment over the long run. Le role du gestionnaire d'energie a evolue avec la dereglementation des marches de l'electricite. Il doit maintenant prendre en compte les facteurs economiques du marche, c'est a dire, les fluctuations du prix de l'electricite, la concurrence entre les differents fournisseurs, pour reduire le cout d'achat de l'electricite, definir des strategies d'investissements et reduire la consommation d'electricite. A titre d'exemple, la gestion de deux groupes d'eau glacee utilises, pour la climatisation de locaux commerciaux, est presentee.