Despite rapidly fluctuating energy costs, the university will not likely spend more than planned on energy this year.
Though utility bills were higher than expected this summer, they have recently dropped sharply, resulting in a current projection that looks comforting for the university.
The sudden change is the latest drastic shift in the university’s energy costs. Energy costs jumped during the first several years of this decade – the university spent $6 million more than anticipated a few years ago – before declining last year.
The university anticipates spending about $500,000 less than it had originally planned, said John Blair, the university’s budget director. Officials attributed the discrepancy to the university’s energy conservation efforts.
“We can’t bring the cost down, but we can bring the usage down, and now you are just paying more for less,” Blair said.
The university was under budget by $2.5 million in fiscal year 2008 but increased the budget by 7 percent for fiscal year 2009, he said.
“We try to focus on consumption,” said Susan Corry, the conservation manager in Facilities Management. “Cost fluctuates with the price of gas. But, our consumption has been flat over the past couple years.”
Balir said it’s difficult to predict the utility budget because the prices are constantly changing.
“The problem is that the natural gas prices are market based, and they fluctuate quite a bit,” Blair said. He added that weather is another variable that affects the consumption of energy on the campus.
Facilities Management has continued to improve conservation efforts by using automation to limit the use of energy throughout university buildings. They have also added an initiative to lessen the amount of light in hallways to cut costs.
But the biggest impact comes from an initiative to replace older, antiquated equipment on the campus with energy-efficient versions that cut costs. The newer equipment pays back the university through a decrease in the money the university must spends on energy costs.
“If we wouldn’t spend it on energy, we could spend it on something else,” said Heather Lair, project manager for the university’s Office of Sustainability.
The efforts save money while reducing carbon emissions and improve the quality of the buildings themselves, said Corry.
Lair said some departments still need to be careful about how much energy they are using. She said the university could improve by raising awareness in departments where staff don’t realize how much they are spending on energy each year, Lair said.
“They don’t get the bills, so people don’t see what they’re using,” she said.
In fiscal year 2008, the university budgeted $60.9 million on utilities. With this year’s seven-percent increase, the university is budgeted to spend $64.7 million.
“We try to keep enough in the budget so we are prepared for more,” Blair said.
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