Commonwealth Announces 3% Energy Reduction in Program’s First Year

Governor Tom Wolf announced January 9^th that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania achieved “a three percent reduction in state government electricity, natural gas, and steam use” in the first year of its program to reduce carbon pollution. The energy conservation initiative is part of a 2018 executive order that established a goal of 26% reduction in net greenhouse gas emissions by 2025 and an 80% reduction from 2005 levels by 2050.

EnergyCAP software—the foundational component of EnergyCAP, Inc.’s (ECI) energy management information solution—is at the core of the commonwealth’s program, tracking utility bill data for approximately 8,000 electric and natural gas meters statewide. The commonwealth’s press release states that the data “will help identify further facility energy reductions and cost-saving project opportunities… and prioritize capital improvement projects.”

Approximately 85% of the commonwealth’s utility bills are imported into EnergyCAP electronically. Paper bills are processed by EnergyCAP, Inc.’s (ECI) Bill CAPture℠ service. The service employs optical character recognition technology to convert each paper bill into an electronic file, which is then imported into EnergyCAP for auditing, analysis, and reporting. Multiple facilities, including the commonwealth’s Capitol complex and primary National Guard facility, also import submeter interval data into EnergyCAP to perform detailed energy consumption analysis and vendor utility bill verification.

Working closely with ECI, the Penn State Facilities Engineering Institute (PSFEI) supported the commonwealth during the past year with software implementation and has been training commonwealth clients to use EnergyCAP, analyze energy data, and understand the energy usage and costs for each meter and facility. PSFEI customizes the training sessions to provide a tailored experience for the various user roles supported by EnergyCAP and required by the commonwealth’s agencies.

“Prior to EnergyCAP, access to energy costs and usage was limited,” said Gwendy Bilger, PSFEI energy data analyst. “With EnergyCAP, commonwealth staff have around-the-clock access to information and tools that empower them to become informed energy managers. With EnergyCAP, the process is streamlined, automated, and intuitive.”

Steve Heinz, Founder and CEO of ECI, added, “I love Jonas Salk’s quote ‘Are we being good ancestors?’ It’s an honor for us to be able to serve alongside Governor Wolf, the Department of General Services, and PSFEI in contributing toward important goals for energy, cost and carbon reductions that will benefit our children and grandchildren.”