On December 3, 2004, the CEE Board of Directors approved a new national initiative targeting energy savings within municipal water and wastewater facilities.

CEE's Municipal Water and Wastewater Facility Initiative will focus on:

• best practices to target program resources on key energy-saving opportunities
  
• an industry-wide energy performance rating system to enable facility benchmarking
  
• a nationally supported, energy-efficiency message and supporting materials to help raise awareness among key decision-makers

Potential energy savings are estimated to be 15-30 percent in the sector, or 31 billion kWh nationwide. Since facilities operate 24 hours a day, there are also opportunities for load management, demand response and best practices.

There are a number of non-energy benefits associated with greater facility efficiency, such as reduced accumulation of solids, decreased chemicals use, longer equipment life and better process control.

At the national level, the initiative will send a strong message to the water and wastewater industry (and their suppliers) that the energy-efficiency program community is organized and actively supporting energy efficiency in this sector.

“The initiative is structured in a way to give local programs a national presence that they would not have otherwise,” said CEE Executive Director Marc Hoffman. “It will better position them to build relationships with their local water and wastewater industry and, importantly, their suppliers.”

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