Energy Management Plans Required for Salt Lake City Buildings

Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker issued an Executive Order to maximize energy savings at all Salt Lake City facilities.

The order creates a multi-department Energy Management Steering Committee and requires city facilities to develop annual energy management plans and track results.

Although the city has been benchmarking its own energy use, the new mandate requires annual benchmarking of energy consumption and public transparency regarding energy performance information.

Other key components of city buildings' energy management plans will include:

• The identification and documentation of energy-saving opportunities through the establishment of an energy audit program or other protocols that can prioritize projects every five years.
• The development of guidelines and a retro-commissioning and re-tuning plan that ensures that building systems are consistently operating efficiently.
• The creation of guidelines for building operator energy management training. As of December 31, 2015, all city facilities should be operated by or under the supervision of a certified building operator.
• The development of employee engagement strategies to ensure that city employees are aware of energy-saving goals and are engaged in activities to reach these targets.
• The exploration of renewable energy opportunities that can be used to offset the energy impacts of municipal operations.

The new Executive Order is a cornerstone of Project Skyline, an initiative designed to dramatically cut energy waste in Salt Lake City’s commercial buildings by accelerating investment in energy efficiency and raising public awareness of building performance. In 2014, Project Skyline kicked off with the Mayor’s Skyline Challenge, enlisting 20 businesses in a proactive effort to reduce building energy use.

A previous Executive Order issued by Mayor Becker in 2013 requires all new city facilities achieve net-zero energy status.