Edison International : Energy Saved is Money Earned for High-Usage Customers

It starts with a treasure hunt. Company personnel accompanied by Southern California Edison energy specialists walk the facility searching for air leaks, unused equipment left idling or any number of deficiencies letting energy slip through the cracks. The prize comes when these operational oversights are found - up to hundreds of thousands of dollars in cost savings over the course of a year or more.This 'treasure hunt' is the origin of SCE's Strategic Energy Management program, which is designed for business customers with high-energy usage interested in reducing the cost of their usage and its impact on the grid.

By working closely with an SCE account representative along with an energy coach, customers identify areas where they can conserve energy and develop a comprehensive plan. In the process, they often discover ways to engage employees to help uncover new cost-saving opportunities.

'Facilities really hit their stride in the program when they fully engage all employees,' said Richard Hart, senior Strategic Energy Management coach from the program's implementer, Cascade Energy. 'That creates a sustainable system of continuous improvement and operational savings because employees start to own the results.'

Sierra Aluminum is a metal extrusions company that began its Strategic Energy Management journey last year and was initially attracted by the program's offer of free energy consultation and rebates. Signing up each of its facilities in Riverside and Fontana, the company quickly uncovered cost savings during its initial on-site treasure hunt.
'As employees, we walk the floor and don't look at our process with energy usage in mind,' said Robert Smith, plant manager for Sierra Aluminum. 'During the treasure hunt, when our attention was heightened, we heard air leaks and learned that we can conserve energy by fixing them and realize considerable savings by doing so.'
After fixing those air leaks and lowering their compressed air system's operating pressure, along with installing auto shutoffs on some of their equipment, Sierra Aluminum was able to shut off a superfluous air compressor. This, among other projects, allowed the company to realize a 5% reduction in energy usage last year in its Riverside facility. That equated to more than $70,000 in energy savings that has since gone back into the business. Additionally, the company received a $10,000 incentive check after achieving key program milestones.

Glanbia, which produces nutritional products out of its Corona plant, is another participant that worked with an energy coach to quickly identify energy savings at the onset of its Strategic Energy Management program.

After its treasure hunt, the company borrowed equipment to identify air leaks from SCE's 'lending library' at no cost. 'That allowed us to locate 30 to 40 leaks and got us $10,000 in savings right off the bat for no investment,' said James Cantwell, Glanbia project engineer.

Glanbia was fully invested in the program after its quick return and worked collaboratively with Cascade Energy and its SCE account representative to find opportunities for even greater savings.

'After a deep dive, we realized we didn't need to run one of our utility sub < /a>systems at all,' said Cantwell. 'We shut it off for a couple of weeks and realized it didn't have any effect on production. So, we took it offline and with no resource strain, we saved 200,000 kilowatt-hours per year for about $40,000 in savings.'

Facilities really hit their stride in the program when they fully engage all employees. That creates a sustainable system of continuous improvement and operational savings because employees start to own the results.'

Richard Hart, Cascade Energy

While the Strategic Energy Management program helps high-energy usage customers achieve vast savings, it provides benefits that go beyond near-term cost and energy reduction. 'What surprised me the most is that there is no cost for this program,' said Cantwell. 'If you were to hire energy-efficiency engineers on your own, you're going to pay for it.'

'One of the great things to come out of 2020 was our participation in the SEM program,' said Smith. 'We're going to keep moving with it this year and we're hoping to see about a $130,000 cost reduction.'

Whether businesses are looking to save costs, reduce energy usage or simply do business more efficiently, the Strategic Energy Management program might be a perfect fit. Or as one program participant called it, a 'no-brainer.'

For more information on how your business can work with SCE to identify cost savings and reduce energy usage, visit theSCE business resource website.