50001 Ready Offers a Competitive Edge in Utility Energy Management Programs

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy's Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO) announces the publication of a new case study describing how utilities can leverage DOE’s 50001 Ready program to help their customers continually improve energy performance.

Program administrators, utilities, and energy service providers across the country are increasingly engaging their industrial, commercial and municipal customers in strategic energy management (SEM) programs to achieve sustainable and persistent energy savings. As detailed in the case study, Strategic Energy Group (SEG), an energy service provider that works with many utilities across North America, has incorporated 50001 Ready resources and tools to enhance the utility SEM programs they support.

Many organizations participating in SEG’s SEM programs have now earned the 50001 Ready recognition from DOE, and others are close to achieving that goal. These organizations value federal recognition of their energy achievements. In addition, consumer-facing industrial companies with environmentally-conscious customers find that 50001 Ready reinforces their lean and sustainability-focused manufacturing approach. Public sector organizations (including school systems) appreciate that their DOE-issued 50001 Ready recognition certificates demonstrate responsible use of taxpayer dollars.

SEG quickly recognized 50001 Ready’s potential to enhance the utility SEM programs they support.

"50001 Ready provides a pathway and annual gap analysis for an energy management process,” said Ed Birch, Principal at SEG. “With a structured approach like SEM and 50001 Ready, we have experienced a savings range of 5 to 22% net of capital."

SEG finds 50001 Ready provides a useful stepping stone for end users who are new to energy management, a helpful review or educational tool for those with some experience, or a valuable evaluation tool for those who want to prove the robustness of their existing system.

See the case study to learn more about how utility customers benefit from 50001 Ready.