Industrial Strategic Energy Management

Utilities that offer Strategic Energy Management provide the opportunity to better understand their industrial customers’ energy use and develop a long-term professional relationship while expanding their customer service resources. Some utilities have also reported increased customer satisfaction from the annual incentives, reduced annual maintenance costs and utility bills.

• $0.025 per kWh of annual SEM verified*** savings

Some benefits to industrial facilities’ are better understanding their electric energy use while introducing a holistic approach to identify, monitor and oversee its energy consumption through continuous improvements and reduce their energy intensity. SEM promotes implementation of a structured, sustainable energy management program that delivers consistent long-term results and helps participants:

• identify low-cost/no-cost O&M strategies,
• develop continuous improvement skills,
• provide frequent tracking of performance that measures energy consumption,
• ·offer peer-to-peer (or individual) support,
• ·offer virtual and in-person coaching workshops, and
• ·other technical assistance, as needed

BPA’s ESI program provides utilities and their end-users with a number of resources and technical experts. Additionally, SEM participants may receive non-energy benefits such as more efficient processes, enhanced surroundings for employees, and improved safety.

***SEM verified savings are calculated at the end of Year 1 and at the end of Year 2. Verified total energy savings measured from the start of the current performance period.

SEM participants are eligible for the PTS measure - which provides a payment to help with the installation and maintenance costs associated with the verified installation of metering hardware and/or electric-energy data collection software that tracks key variables used to develop a meaningful, normalized energy-use profile. Improved awareness of how energy is used leads to better, more-informed decisions that can result in verified energy savings.

• PTS Initial Installation payment is the lesser of actual PTS cost, $15,000, or a utility-specified cap
• PTS Maintenance payment is the lesser of actual PTS maintenance cost, $10,000 per two-year performance period, or a utility-specified cap

The initial PTS installation may be required prior to starting a SEM performance period or may be concurrent with a performance period. After the initial PTS setup payment, annual PTS maintenance payments are available. These maintenance payments cover annual services and other data barriers that may happen over the course of the SEM engagement.

The PTS payment is an additional payment above and beyond other payments provided by BPA for verified energy savings (e.g., payments and savings associated with completed UES measures, nonresidential lighting, SEM, and custom projects).

• Baseline energy-intensity models - developed and used to track energy performance
• Hybrid SEM peer-to-peer workshops
• Creation of an action item list to identify, prioritize and implement O&M activities
• On-site SEM coaching
• O&M tune-ups
• Energy scans
• Energy management assessments
• Incentives for electrical or production metering installation, upgrade and annual maintenance costs

SEM cohorts will vary based on the needs of interested participants. Since mid-2020, cohort models have been remote and were not limited to the physical proximity of participants or by end-use (such as wastewater or cold storage) facilities. All sites enrolled in SEM will develop an energy-intensity model – which normalizes energy consumption to production, weather, or other energy drivers – that is used to report savings to BPA. SEM is mid- to long-term engagement over multiple years. While savings can be initially slow, sites can expect 3 to 5% of steady energy savings once SEM practices are implemented.

SEM energy champions are expected to participate in either a series of SEM peer network group workshops or host a multiday tune-up event.  Core elements of the engagement include:

• A utility agreement, outlines the industry’s commitment to implement SEM and the terms of the utility’s performance-incentive offer
• A baseline energy-intensity model tracks energy performance and incentive payments for each participant
• A plan, energy efficiency action items are identified, prioritized, and implemented
• Resources to host SEM engagement planning sessions that align with organizational needs
• An annual SEM Completion Report entails action item statuses, verified energy savings, performance-incentive amounts, and energy goals for the following year.

The participation pathway is tailored for each site, the figure below outlines the typical SEM process:

Serving utilities may re-enroll participants with additional savings potential at the end of each two-year engagement period. Upon notification of re-enrollment, ESI will refresh the SEM engagement plan. Participants who do re-enroll in SEM or they’re no longer a good fit are encouraged to continue their energy management journey through Energy Project Manager or Custom Projects. Custom Projects is versatile program offering that includes capital improvement projects and operation & maintenance projects. At this time Performance Tracking System incentives are only eligible to active SEM participants; however, continued use of these energy management tools is highly recommended.

• Commercial and Industrial Annual SEM Report Template (Click here to be taken to the Document Library webpage)
• Commercial and Industrial Strategic Energy Management FAQ
• NW Collaborative SEM Hub website
• SEM M&V Reference Guide (Click here to be taken to the BPA M&V Reference Guides page)
• Strategic Energy Management Calculator V8.3 (Revised Date 10/01/2023)

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