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HomeMy WebLinkAboutIR 7054 INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 7054 t'f �pFiORT�A To the Mayor and Members of the City Council October 1 , 1985 TfxAy' Subject: eT3 MUNICIPAL ENERGY CONSERVATION PROGRAMS During the 1980-81 fiscal year, the City of Fort Worth spent more than $10,970,000 for energy. The next year, costs were projected to rise to more than $13,690,000. City departments were engaging in energy conservation but, in most cases, their efforts were incidental to departmental goals. Competing priorities would not allow the departments to devote adequate attention to energy costs. The City Council decided to address the energy issues by creating an Energy Conservation Advisory Committee consisting of volunteers from businesses, professional organizations, utility companies, governmental agencies and the citizenry at large. This committee was charged with the task of developing a comprehensive energy program for the City. In October, 1981 the City Council adopted their recommendations as the Municipal Energy Management Plan for the City of Fort Worth. The major recommendation was the establishment of a City Energy Management Office. This office became a reality in March, 1982 with the hiring of the City's Energy Manager. Following are highlights of some of the actions taken to reduce energy costs for the City of Fort Worth. Village Creek Electricity Rate Structure The Village Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant produces a portion of its own electricity by cogenerating with biogas produced at the plant. Texas Electric Service Company (TESCO) provides the balance of the plant's electrical requirements. The original purchase agreement for electricity severely penalized the plant for high electrical demand, so natural gas was used in the generators to keep the demand charges low. When natural gas prices were low, this was a cost effective way to run the plant; but since 1972 the price has increased over ten times. The policy was reevaluated and discontinued in October, 1982. TESCO has a goal to slow the growth of their total system demand. When it was pointed out that the generators at Village Creek could be used to produce power during the summer months, TESCO agreed to rewrite the rate schedule to ease high demand penalties during their off-peak periods. The new rates went into effect in January, 1984. The results have exceeded expectations. Annual avoided costs in purchased fuel and reduced electricity charges are estimated at $455,000. Insulation of Digesters at Village- Creek In September, 1985, the City Council voted to award a contract to insulate the tops of four digesters at Village Creek for the amount of $111 ,702. The year before, the first four digesters were insulated. When this contract is completed, only two of the digesters at Village Creek will be uninsulated. ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS — INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No 7054 - p.2 NERTERE 0 C" To the Mayor and Members of the City Council October 1 , 1985 Subject: 1873 MUNICIPAL ENERGY CONSERVATION PROGRAMS An earlier study showed that as much as 50% of the heating requirements of the digesters during the winter months was used to replace heat lost through the uninsulated tops. Although most of the heat is generated free with digester gas, natural gas is used to supplement the gas produced in the plant. When the digester temperature falls below 95'O F, gas production is reduced, and additional natural gas has to be purchased. For the last three years the operators at Village Creek have not been able to maintain the temperatures of the digesters. The digester tops are being insulated in lieu of painting. The value of the heat input saved is estimated at $101 ,000 per year. The value of the additional digester gas produced is not estimated. Conversion of Street Lights to High Pressure Sodium In 1979, the Transportation and Public Works Department undertook a program to replace eight to ten thousand mercury vapor lamps with high pressure sodium. Where practical, new street lights have been high pressure sodium. Today there are 11,500 high pressure sodium street lights. The estimated annual electricity savings, compared to mercury vapor lights, exceed $885,000. Fluorescent Relamping Program One of the first City-wide energy conservation projects was the relamping of all standard F-40 and F-96 fluorescent fixtures with energy-saving lamps. TESCO offered a $.60 rebate for each F-40 lamp and a $1.00 rebate for each F-96 lamp replaced. More than 34,000 lamps were replaced. The amount received from TESCO was $22,371 . The net cost of the program was $8,500. The electricity savings were projected to be $88,000 per year. City Hall Relamping The fluorescent lamps used in the Municipal Building were not eligible for the TESCO rebate program because they are an odd size. It was not obvious that energy savings alone would justify the cost of relamping the building. A life cycle cost analysis was made to include the benefits of lower maintenance costs and extended lamp life. The analysis showed that over a four year period more than $73,000 would be saved on a projected expenditure of $37,000. Planned expense for labor and ballasts was not as high as expected, and the actual cost of the project was just over $23,000. City Hal ] Lamp Removal Since 1977, approximately one third of the lamps have been removed from the fluorescent fixtures at City Hall in an effort to reduce energy consumption. ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS — INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 7054 - p.3 yf"\ �'P TiAfO ai50P),o To the Mayor and Members of the City Council October 1 , 1985 V � S x rExAy. Subject: a„ 1 MUNICIPAL ENERGY CONSERVATION PROGRAMS This no-cost conservation measure is saving some $45,000 per year and the remaining lights throughout the building are adequate. However, the light fixtures have dark shadows and the appearance of burned out lights. New reflectors which convert four lamp fixtures to two lamp fixtures are being tested at Meacham Field. These reflectors may prove economically feasible to be installed in the Municipal Building. On the average, light levels will increase 70%, dark shadows will disappear and an additional $20,000 per year may be cut from annual utility costs. The cost to convert the light fixtures will be approximately $120,000. Fluorescent Retrofits for Incandescent Lights The recessed light fixtures in the Municipal Building were orginally fitted with 150 watt floodlights. The lobbies on the Lower Level, Ground Floor and Second Level use 100 watt bulbs. Approximately 300 of these lights have been turned out to save some $9,000 per year. Fluorescent retrofits are now available to replace incandescent lights at lower wattage. Using the retrofits, all of the lights can be turned back on, t and the savings will be $18,000 per year. The 'cost of the replacement bulbs will be approximately $10,000. - The new light bulbs have many potential applications throughout the City. Central Library Energy conservation measures at the Central Library include the remooval of almost one thousand excess lamps, reducing the amount of air from the air conditioning system by 20% and putting the air conditioning system on a schedule. Avoided costs are in the neighborhood of $35,000 per year. Timers at the Branch Libraries Timers were installed on the air conditioning systems at all of the Branch Libraries in February, 1983. The cost totaled $1 ,050. Annual savings of approximately $9,800 are achieved by turning off the air conditioning systems at night. Alternate Rate Schedules TESCO offers different rate schedules for municipal facilitio, To determine which would have the lowest cost , the rates are evaluated individually for each facility. ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No, 7054 - p.4 t �,,R TiRf ;` �pFfORT� To the Mayor and Members of the City Council October 1 , 1985 V S x rexA�' Subject: ,e„ 1 MUNICIPAL ENERGY CONSERVATION PROGRAMS In November, 1983, the City Council approved a contract converting the street lights to TESCO's rate schedule "SL" from "FSL". The avoided cost was projected at $108,000 per year. The FSL rate schedule was later discontinued. Water pumping rate schedules are selected to meet the anticipated pumping requirements for the next twelve months, taking into consideration planned shutdowns. Avoided costs are $260,000 per year. Alternate rates for the Branch Libraries, the Multi-Purpose Centers and the Recreation Centers are saving $108,000 per year. Whenever the utility applies for a rate increase, or the function of a facility changes, the rate schedules are reevaluated to ensure that energy is purchased at the lowest prices. The Establishment of an Energy Conservation Fund Energy conservation is an area that offers excellent opportunities for investments. Payback periods for conservation measures of two or three years are common. Often an energy conservation measure will pay for itself in less w; than a year. These projects are usually delayed because the departments do not have sufficient funds in the current fiscal year. To encourage departments to identify and implement energy conservation measures, an energy conservation fund was established by the City Council in January, 1984. $100,000 was set aside to be used for energy conservation projects. To qualify for these funds, a project must have a simple payback period less than three years, be in a General Fund department and there must be no other sources of funds for the project. The Energy Conservation Reserve Fund has been used to install energy saving fluorescent lights in the Municipal Building and to purchase fluorescent retrofits for incandescent lights to be installed in the Municipal Building. Recent Activities The Energy Manager works closely with City departments to ensure that City facilities are operated in an energy efficient manner. As a Mechanical Engineer, he is frequently called upon by the Transportation and Public Works Department to help solve heating and air conditioning problems. Plans and specifications for new City facilities are submitted for review by the Architectural Division to ensure that they meet the City's energy standards. For the past two years, the Energy Manager has assisted the Budget Office by providing projections of natural gas and electricity costs to be used for budget preparation. Effective with the 1985-86 budget the Energy Management ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS 'INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 7054 - p.5 �f,P TEAf ('✓ �p.�fORT�o To the Mayor and Members of the City Council October 1 , 1985 1 ~ \✓ F u i %rExAy Subject: 1073 1 MUNICIPAL ENERGY CONSERVATION PROGRAMS Office will become a division of the Office of Management Services. This reorganization will permit the Energy Manager to also serve the Budget Office as a technical analyst on non-energy related projects. Energy Conservation Report The Energy Conservation Activity Report is a running account of energy conservation activities in the City of Fort Worth. Recommendations are entered with the date of recommendation, or formal report, the estimated initial cost and the estimated annual savings. If the recommendation is acted upon, the date that it is implemented is recorded as well as the status of the project. Accumulated Savings is an estimate of the total avoided cost to date since the energy conservation measure was implemented. Energy Conservation Activity Reports are issued bi-monthly and will be forwarded to the City Council. Doug"J� .�arman� City Manager - ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS