UPbeat

News for and about University of Portland faculty and staff.

Energy Trust of Oregon's Strategic Energy Management (SEM) program

UP Hosting Strategic Energy Management Cohort Workshop, Sept. 14

UPsolarpowerThe University of Portland has been participating in a two-year Strategic Energy Management (SEM) cohort sponsored by the Energy Trust of Oregon (ETO), according to physical plant director André Hutchinson. The University will host the next SEM workshop, “Sustaining Strategic Energy Management,” on Wednesday, September 14.

The University’s commitment toward strategic energy management has been spearheaded by Sandy Galati and Dirk Theisen, physical plant. Other Energy Team members include Eric Barger, controller; Michelle Sunderland, information services; and Beth Sorensen, marketing and communications.

UP has earned two milestone incentives of $1,000 each, one for creating an energy team and the other for maintaining the Energy Trust’s performance tracking tool. UP is on target to achieve two additional $1,000 incentives for successfully completing identified goals on the SEM Action Plan and the implementation of an energy policy. Cohort participants are eligible to earn $.02/KwH and $.20/therm on reduced electricity and natural gas consumption. Stay tuned for news on upcoming SEM events in November and December to which other members of the UP community will be invited. The goal of the SEM cohort is to support the University as both a responsible steward of energy resources and of financial resources.

For more information contact Hutchinson at x7306 0r hutchina@up.edu.

UP Joins Energy Trust of Oregon’s Strategic Energy Management Program

UP

The University of recently joined a newly formed cohort in the Energy Trust of Oregon’s Strategic Energy Management (SEM) program, according to physical plant director André Hutchinson.

One of the initial steps in the SEM program is the Energy Management Assessment (EMA); the EMA session is not a technical audit, but rather takes a business approach to effective energy management. The EMA is a means to identify, evaluate, and prioritize critical energy-related business practices to target for improvement, and will take place Tuesday, January 5, 2016.

The meeting will be facilitated by Harold “Skip” Schick, director of business practices for the Energy Trust of Oregon. Key stakeholders and other persons with responsibilities that effect energy management have been invited to participate in the EMA. The ultimate goals of UP’s participation include the creation and implementation of a formal energy policy resulting in significant, permanent reductions in energy consumption, further resulting in significant, permanent reductions in energy costs.

To provide further incentive, UP will receive electricity savings of two cents per kilowatt hour and natural gas savings of twenty center per therm for participating in the SEM program. In addition, UP will receive a $1,000 milestone bonus if the new energy policy is created and implemented within one year of the formation of its cohort.

For more information contact Hutchinson at 7306 or physicalplant@up.edu.