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Rising Energy Costs Millburn School District recently completed a seven year, $300,000 project to install a computerized energy management system for its 200 classrooms. Even before it was completed, the Siemens Apogee system saved the district $80,000 in the last school year. Energy costs account for major portions of public school budgets each year, and recent spikes in the price of gas and diesel fuel, natural gas, and electricity have driven this point painfully home. School districts nationwide are looking for innovative ways to reduce these expenditures through technology, conservation and smart shopping. In a paper titled “Best Practices for Controlling Energy Costs”, which was sponsored by the US Department of Energy and designed as a guide for K-12 school district facilities managers, the authors conclude that: “High energy costs are not "fixed" and can be reduced by 5% to 20% by effectively managing, maintaining, and operating school physical plants, regardless of school age…Substantial energy savings can be achieved from improved O&M [Operations and Maintenance] practices without significant capital investments.” Whether a school district chooses an expensive technological solution or adopts less expensive changes in operations in order to reduce energy costs, it will be necessary to take aggressive action in order to avoid deeply impacting annual budgets. Readington is no different. How much does Readington spend on energy over the course of a year? The numbers are surprising both in size and in distribution. With a large fleet of buses, one might think that diesel fuel would be highest on the list, but electricity costs dwarf all others. Four vendors provide the bulk of energy products to the district: Elizabethtown Gas, JCP&L, PSE&G, and the Township of Readington for bus fuel. The $771,000 spent with these vendors in the 2004-2005 budget year breaks out like this:
On a percentage basis, the total spent with these vendors represents between two and three percent of the overall budget. That was last year. What about the coming year? The University of Buffalo estimates that its overall energy costs will be 25% higher this coming year. The US Energy Information Administration estimates that natural gas prices this winter will be 48% higher for residential areas. Over the next year as a whole, they project a 32% rise in diesel fuel costs, an 8.9% rise in electricity costs, and a 14% rise in natural gas prices overall. The Bureau of Labor Statistics notes a 13.8% increase in the energy index used for the Consumer Price Index in the NY-NJ area in September alone. It is a risky proposition to forecast energy costs, of course. To borrow a joke from the world of economics, if you put all the energy analysts end to end around the world, you still wouldn’t reach a conclusion. Still, it seems clear that energy costs will continue to rise due to geo-political and climate factors currently at play. Mainstream projections for overall costs over the next year are in the 25-40% range. For Readington, that could be another $200-300 thousand dollars, assuming no changes in operations. Not exactly chump change. Even if energy prices magically level off, the amount our district spends is enough to warrant a detailed look at changes in operations and perhaps technology. Limiting the amount of time kitchen ovens are allowed to warm up, upgrading lighting ballasts, cleaning condenser and evaporator coils, turning off unused printers and copiers, tightening building envelopes, or asking janitors to use portable lighting instead of lighting up the whole building may seem like small gestures. Yet, these and other ideas, if applied consistently and pervasively, can result in tremendous savings that go right to the bottom line. With the potential for a new septic system to be replaced with a connection to the township facilities, an opportunity exists to save great amounts of energy. Gravity is much cheaper than running the formerly proposed septic facility. As we continue to replace or revamp our mechanical systems, great care must be taken to evaluate the energy costs along with the upfront costs. Though there is plenty of other meat still to chew on our collective plate, it is critical that our school board and our administration make the control of energy costs a priority. Other school districts have mandated energy audits, conducted staff training and even enlisted students to help with changes in behavior. Children, after all, make the best nudges when it comes to changing adult behavior. A unified effort to reduce energy costs will pay off with serious budget money that can be better spent elsewhere. |
