Utilities

The ability of a commercial building owner or operator to access building energy consumption data is a critical first step to benchmarking a building's energy performance and reducing energy consumption. Benchmarking the actual energy performance of a building requires energy consumption data for the whole building. Historically, whole-building energy data has been difficult for building owners to access. The barriers include:

  • Separate meters - Building owners cannot access energy meters in their buildings where tenants are billed directly for energy without authorization from tenants.
  • Manual data collection - Securing data release authorization or collecting monthly energy data from individual tenants can be time intensive and procedurally difficult for building owners and operators.
  • Utility data policies - Many utilities have rigorous rules and privacy policies governing the direct release of customer energy data to third parties.

Utilities and utility commissions can support benchmarking and other energy efficiency initiatives in buildings by helping building owners access energy data. With support from the U.S. EPA, several utilities around the nation have automated the monthly transfer of whole-building energy consumption data directly into benchmarking software used by building owners. In other cases, utilities are aggregating the energy consumption from multiple meters within a building and releasing a single, whole-building energy consumption figure to building owners, allowing owners to benchmark their building while protecting the privacy of individual tenants. Some local jurisdictions have passed legislation requiring utilities to support benchmarking through automated data exchange.

The Chicago utility ComEd is a leading provider of free automated benchmarking services for its customers. ComEd's Energy Usage Data System (EUDS), which includes automated benchmarking, has directly resulted in the benchmarking of thousands of commercial buildings in Chicago in just a few years. Other utilities offering automated benchmarking services include Avista Utilities, Puget Sound Energy, WPPI Energy, Seattle City Light, PG&E, San Diego Gas & Electric, SoCal Gas, Southern California Edison and Sacramento Municipal Utility District. 

 

Resources

                      Utility Meter Data Sensitivity Graphic