Local Authority Signs – Porirua City Council

Porirua City Council have signed with NZ Energy SolutioNZ to achieve a 10% saving on energy costs and a two year pay back.  This makes PCC the first council to use the combined resources of NZ Energy SolutioNZ. 

The NZ Energy SolutioNZ proposal was successful against other proposals and is likely to include a wide range of services including level 1 and 2 audits, implementation expenditure and monitoring.

Helen Schafer, Porirua City Council Zero Waste Co-ordinator “We considered other proposals but chose NZ Energy SolutioNZ for their cost effectiveness, technical expertise, co-ordinated approach to provide a wide range of services and their investment in future proofing. We also see the e-Bench product as being very useful to manage costs and consumption. 

We have a range of assets and we are expecting savings of 10% which in turn will provide a two year pay back for the NZ Energy SolutioNZ initiative”

“We are excited to be working with Porirua City Council and see their involvement as testimony to the interest there is from other local authorities as they attempt to manage their energy.” Geoff Bennett, representative of NZ Energy SolutioNZ.

 

Benchmarking big part of the correct way forward

With an annual energy bill of over $5.2 million, the Department of Corrections has made a commitment to reduce energy consumption  to meet the state sectors target of a 15 percent improvement in energy efficiency by 2007.    

To facilitate this on going work the Department of Corrections has subscribed to e-Bench, a world-leading benchmarking tool designed in New Zealand.

Using e-Bench, an Internet based benchmarking tool for measuring energy and environmental efficiency, the Department will have the information it needs to use energy more efficiently at its 17 prison sites, including accommodation facilities, central kitchens/laundries etc. It will also be able to compare consumption between facilities or prison sites.

The Department has some check meters and monitoring technology already in place and e-Bench will use this information to monitor, target, analyse and report to an aggregated or meter level. e-Bench will also make facility simulations to gauge how changes may affect consumption.

Cees Ebskamp, the Department’s Energy Manager, is delighted with the new software. He says: “It checks invoices for errors or unexpected patterns of consumption and reports on progress toward meeting our energy consumption output goals.

“An important consideration is how climate data and design capability data can be added to get a more accurate reflection of energy efficiency.”

In addition it will meet reporting requirements for the Department’s Triple Bottom Line reporting, the Government’s National Efficiency and Conservation Strategy and the now ratified Kyoto Protocol.

e-Bench director Geoff Bennett says there are millions of dollars that could be saved in the public sector through ongoing energy management initiatives. 

“e-Bench provides the information organisations need to see where they are using energy, how this compares with other sites, and where there is waste,” says Geoff. 

e-Bench has been designed by Energy and Technical Services, a Wellington energy management company and part of the Government’s top 100 ICT taskforce.

A number of other organisations across industry sectors are already using e-Bench to better manage their energy consumption including Massey University, Christchurch International Airport, Ministry of Education, Kiwi Income Property Trust, Rangatikei District Council, Parliamentary Service and Aotearoa Park Cold Storage.