CONTACT:
Donna Henry (DDOE) 202.299.3338; [email protected]
Myra Oppel (Pepco) 202.872.2680; [email protected]
Washington, DC — The District of Columbia and Pepco have partnered together in the Energy Data Accelerator, one of three new Better Buildings Accelerators, the U.S. Department of Energy announced today at the White House. These Accelerators are part of President Obama’s Climate Action Plan to engage leaders in state and local governments, utilities, and industry to demonstrate innovative policies and programs that will transform the energy efficiency market and cut building energy waste.
The District and Pepco join more than 30 cities and utilities that have committed to demonstrate streamlined, best-practice approaches for building owners to access whole-building energy usage data for the purposes benchmarking and achieving greater energy and cost savings.
“Through President Obama’s Better Buildings Initiative, our partners are committing to real change – breaking through barriers and solving common challenges across the U.S. building energy industry,” said Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel Poneman. “We applaud these partners for joining in this leadership initiative and we look forward to working with them as they help drive greater energy efficiency for industrial, commercial and public buildings – cutting harmful pollution and saving on energy bills.”
Many best-practice approaches for energy data access are already being implemented in the District. Pepco has been supporting the District Department of the Environment’s (DDOE) Energy Benchmarking Program by providing aggregate energy use data to authorized requestors since February 2012. In 2014, Pepco plans to enable customers to use a self-service, web-based portal to download their energy usage and provide it to ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager®, the free, online software tool from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that is used for energy benchmarking in the District. Mayor Vincent C. Gray’s Sustainable DC legislation submitted to the D.C. Council in November will make data on energy and water use even more accessible to building owners and managers.
“The ability of building owners to access whole-building data is critical to successfully tracking and improving energy performance,” said DDOE Director Keith Anderson. “The Better Buildings Accelerator will help us achieve the Mayor’s goal of cutting citywide energy use by 50 percent by 2032 and making the District the greenest, healthiest, and most livable city in the nation.”
”We’re giving customers a tool so they can better manage their energy usage,” said Jay Demarest, customer relations and programs director for Pepco Holdings Inc., Pepco’s parent company. “We’re providing them easier access to their own data.”
Further, the benchmarking data reported to DDOE by building owners gives the DC Sustainable Energy Utility (DCSEU), the District’s energy efficiency provider under contract to DDOE, the ability to identify buildings and customer groups with the greatest energy savings potential and target ratepayer dollars where they’re needed most.
The U.S. Department of Energy will support Better Buildings Accelerator partners with training, technical assistance, tools and resources. For a list of all partnering organizations, please click here.
About the District Department of the Environment: The District Department of the Environment is the leading local authority on energy and environmental issues affecting the District of Columbia. Its mission is to improve the quality of life for the residents and natural inhabitants of the nation’s capital by protecting and restoring the environment, conserving our natural resources, mitigating pollution, and educating the public on ways to secure a sustainable future.
About Pepco: Pepco, a subsidiary of Pepco Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: POM), delivers safe, reliable and affordable electric service to more than 793,000 customers in Maryland and the District of Columbia.
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