Sustainable Ops – Open Mic Webinar October 20, 2010

What? Why? How? What is a utility bill clean-up? Why is it important? How can it help you? How can we support getting them done across the FS?

What is a utility bill clean-up? It is a thorough review of all utility accounts on a National Forest unit. Utility accounts are set up in TUMS to facilitate payment by NFC. Many utility accounts are not monitored after initial entry; circumstances change and the status of utility accounts should be monitored to reflect these changes. Eliminate idle accounts, verify utility rate structure, verify tax exempt status, verify ownership and payment responsibility.

Why is it important? It allows you to reliably monitor the cost and consumption of energy on your unit. Reducing improper payments results in cost savings.

How can it help you? There is an increased emphasis on reducing energy and water consumption in federal facilities. Executive Orders and Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) Energy Policy Act of 2005 It will help build a baseline of use that will assist decision making and provide a benchmark against which future progress can be measured. Eliminating improper payments will simplify data tracking and save money.

Findings – San Juan Case Study Total utility accounts – 124 (natural gas, electric, water, sewer) Accounts requiring changes – 56 (45%) Top 2 most likely changes: Change to tax exempt status Disconnect service to conveyed/vacated properties Approximate annual savings realized $32,000/$171,000 (19%) Monitoring utility costs is a dynamic process. Initial cleanup will uncover obvious errors. Conveying/vacating facilities and concessionaire/contractor changes are ongoing activities. Link to San Juan Case Study

Clean-up Process Obtain a copy of the NFC Utilities Semi-annual status report Contact vendors for copies of utility bills Compare the two and follow up on discrepancies There are tools to help you

How can we support getting them done across the FS? Western Collective “Utility Bill Clean-up” Team has developed a Standard Operating Procedure to provide guidance for the cleanup process. WO letter out last week encourages units to complete a clean-up. We can raise awareness of the need for clean-up and the potential cost savings that can be achieved. WO Sustainable Ops group is providing webinars as a means to assist units with the clean-up process.

Questions? Follow up comments/questions: Laurie Yeager –