Turning Vision Into Reality Leveraging Technology and Culture to Realize Energy Savings at a Large Public Utility

Abstract

The operating pressures faced by today’s utilities include an in-
creased focus on fiscal responsibility and cost reductions, combined with
a higher and ever-increasing level of environmental quality standards.
This puts a brighter spotlight and greater pressure on improving op-
erational efficiency and optimizing the performance and operation of
their facilities, which not only saves energy but makes them more en-
vironmentally sustainable. An energy audit is a process typically used
to evaluate a system for such efficiency and the associated energy sav-
ings. Energy audits also provide the factual basis needed to support the
establishment of a culture that focuses on energy efficiency as a core
part of its decision-making model.
When energy audits are performed for water and wastewater utili-
ties, not only can electrical energy savings be achieved, but savings in
other areas such as process chemical use or parasitic water losses may
also realized.