STEP: The path to energy efficiency
As part of a continuing effort to help school districts and county offices of education stretch their general fund dollars as far as possible, CSBA has introduced a new program that’s good for schools and the planet. The Schools Targeted Energy Program, or STEP, offers local educational agencies the chance to dramatically and immediately reduce utility costs by making quick fixes to existing systems.
Financial adviser Laura Franke of Clean Energy Advocates, who is working with CSBA’s District and Financial Services Department and the consultants at Innovative Energy Services Inc. on the new STEP services, says the program focuses first on identifying how clients can make “high-impact” improvements in lighting, systems monitoring and HVAC upgrades and controls.
“We devised this program because we wanted to give everybody the opportunity to free up general fund dollars by immediately reducing energy costs,” Franke said. “We help districts and county offices do comprehensive analyses of their energy use. We’re telling them, ‘Certain improvements allow you to save money on consumption immediately’.”
Franke said there are effective strategies that can be implemented easily—things like switching to energy-efficient light bulbs, installing modern thermostats that turn off heating and cooling systems when school’s not in session, shutting down computers when they’re idle and improving food-service refrigeration systems. She starts with those ideas but then goes several “steps” farther, designing programs for systemic changes that can be implemented over the longer term and helping its clients find ways to pay for these improvements.
STEP connects districts and county offices with consultants who are experts in energy efficiency planning and financing. “Someone from Innovative Energy Services will tour all of a client’s facilities and come back with plans that can provide immediate relief and long-term changes,” said Franke.
IES will also identify rebates and other incentive payments that can offset the costs of installing new energy-efficient systems or retrofitting older systems to operate more effectively. “Installation costs are significantly offset by these incentive programs,” Franke said. “Because these improvements are going to provide immediate consumption savings, we are able to justify debt issuance to fund the improvements. Debt service payments are structured to assure that the LEA is cash-flow neutral or positive based on savings in consumption.”
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