New Energy Management Program to Benefit Public Utilities and their Industrial Customers

The U.S. industrial sector accounts for approximately one-third of U.S. energy consumption. For utilities, industrial customers represent a major opportunity to capture energy savings and reduce peak demand. However, participation by industrial customers in demand-side management programs has lagged behind other sectors due to the challenges of tailoring programs to address the diversity of processes and equipment in industrial facilities.

This year, two important developments are expected to increase interest in and implementation of energy management: the release of ISO 50001, a global energy management standard, and the launch of Superior Energy Performance (SEP), a voluntary, ANSI-accredited certification program that can yield verified energy intensity reductions in industrial plants and commercial buildings.

The SEP certification program is based on two core components: conformance with the ISO 50001 Energy Management Standard and achievement of performance improvement in energy efficiency. In support of these elements, SEP provides industrial facilities and commercial buildings a framework for fostering energy-efficiency at the facility level and a methodology for measuring and validating energy performance improvements.

As industrial and commercial customers are often a public utility’s largest consumers of electricity and gas, SEP provides key accounts with a valuable framework with which to manage energy use. Further, facility certification demonstrates an ongoing commitment to energy efficiency, supported by verified energy performance improvement and savings.

Why is the SEP Program a good fit for both local industry and your utility?

• SEP certification demonstrates continual improvement in energy performance, verified independently.
• It enables public utilities to better serve their industrial and commercial customers by reinforcing long-term relationships between local industry and business and the community.
• SEP certification may earn industrial facilities and utilities financial benefits like energy efficiency credits or carbon credits.
• By achieving SEP certification, utility customers will reduce their demand for energy over time, saving money, increasing competitiveness and decreasing the utility’s overall load demand growth.
• It could provide utilities a supplemental means for meeting EERS and EPA regulations.

How is the SEP Program Different?

• It is a facility-based program that addresses the diverse energy profile of each industrial or commercial customer.
• It includes compliance with the forthcoming ISO 50001 Standard, an internationally recognized energy management standard, giving legitimacy to SEP certification.
• It provides tools and resources to help implement, evaluate, and validate energy management and efficiency practices.

Your Industrial Customers May Already Be Participating As SEP Demo Sites

A number of facilities have volunteered to participate as pilot sites for SEP, and some of these reside within public utility service areas. The following have participated as SEP demo sites and are located in areas served by public utilities:

Allsteel – Muscatine, Iowa
Bridgestone – Wilson, N.C.
Nissan – Smyrna, Tenn.
Schneider Electric – Smyrna, Tenn.
Amcor PET – Tumwater, Wash.
Grays Harbor Paper – Hoquiam, Wash.

Applications for demo sites are still being accepted! Manufacturing plants in the Northeast region, California, Colorado, and Texas are eligible to apply for the remaining spots open in the SEP pilot program. Your utility could benefit from working together with a facility in your service area to encourage them to apply to participate in SEP. See below for further information on applying to become a demo site.

For More Information:

About Energy Management Demonstrations
Eligibility Requirements for SEP Demo Sites
Contacts at Facilities Already Participating as Demo Sites
A Comprehensive Presentation on the SEP Program
The Standards SEP Uses
APPA Resources on Energy Efficiency for Industrial Customers

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