Con Edison and state authority team up on efficiency program
ALBANY—With a constantly changing energy landscape, keeping up with opportunities for energy efficiency can be daunting, and hiring an energy expert can be a significant investment, especially for large buildings.
Con Edison and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority recognized that. For years, the two offered similar programs, but this year they are teaming up to help building owners save money. The partnership prevents duplication of efforts and makes it more likely that changes to make buildings more efficient will actually happen, according to David Pospisil, development manager for Con Edison.
“When we started in 2009, we had overlapping programs,” Pospisil told American Gas. Con Edison was offering a 50 percent match to help building owners hire an energy expert to suggest changes, and NYSERDA was making the same offer through its Flexible Technical Assistance program. “The last three years, we worked with NYSERDA to make [the programs] much more complementary to each other.”
The revised program continues to offer a 50 percent cost share for an energy consultant to create a customized energy assessment. The cost of these kinds of energy efficiency studies can vary widely depending on the size and use of the building, said Pospisil, but when Con Edison was providing matches, many of them were in the $20,000 to $25,000 range.
Now, Con Edison sends business owners interested in updating their buildings to NYSERDA for the agency’s expertise. Information about the program from NYSERDA says building owners can use their own consultant or choose from the agency’s vetted list.
Then, Con Edison continues to work closely with NYSERDA to help the owners follow through on the suggestions revealed by the study. The utility can then offer further financial incentives for actually doing the work, Pospisil said. “Years ago, a lot of studies ended up on the shelf,” he added. “We work with NYSERDA once the studies are delivered. We can use them as a lever to bring action.”
According to NYSERDA, “the energy measures identified through the FlexTech assessment can then be implemented with financial incentives from Con Edison, making it easier for you to analyze, improve and maintain your energy efficient business.”
A trained energy expert such as those contracted through FlexTech can look at an entire building, not just at single issues such as lighting, fuel, insulation or cooling, Pospisil said. The recommended changes have the potential to save building owners 20 percent or more in energy costs. “The analytics we use give us an idea of the potential to help people,” he said.