Audit Report on Citywide Energy Conservation Efforts by the Department of Citywide Administrative Services
Audit Report In Brief
We performed an audit on Citywide energy conservation efforts by the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (Department). The Department’s Office of Energy Conservation (Office) is responsible for coordinating Citywide energy conservation policies and for assisting City agencies in energy cost-control strategies. The Office was created in 1976 by Executive Order No. 60, which was superseded by Mayoral Directive 89-1 in 1989. The Directive required that the Office “develop and implement energy cost reduction programs, establish energy conservation guidelines and encourage energy conservation.”
The Office participates in the New York State Power Authority’s Energy Cost Reduction (ENCORE) program, under which $162.6 million of energy conservation projects (e.g., lighting and boiler upgrades) were completed from Fiscal Years 1998 through 2004. For each City agency, the Office produces billing reports of energy use for review by each agency’s energy liaison officer (ELO). Liaison officers are responsible for reviewing bills, requesting or terminating service, promulgating Office directives, and implementing programs.
Audit Findings and Conclusions
The Office does not have adequate standards and procedures to ensure that the City implements effective energy conservation programs in accordance with Mayoral Directive No. 89-1. While we found that the Office has some standards and procedures, such as its guidelines for summer and winter energy conservation and its participation in the Authority’s ENCORE program, these do not go far enough in addressing the Office’s responsibilities in overseeing the City’s energy conservation needs. The Office has not developed effective overall strategies for managing energy conservation, and has not established energy reduction goals for City agencies.
Moreover, the Office is not effectively adhering to its own standards and procedures as demonstrated by its failure to enforce conservation guidelines and its inadequate attention to the ENCORE program. Independent energy audits found that had four City facilities undertaken ENCORE programs, the City could have realized nearly $800,000 in electric energy savings over a ten-year period.
Finally, the Office has not effectively communicated to agency ELOs their responsibilities, including the proper review of utility bills, promulgation of Office directives, and implementation of energy conserving programs using available low-cost financing.
Audit Recommendations
This report makes a total of 14 recommendations. The major recommendations are as follows:
The Department’s Office of Energy Conservation should:
• Develop long-range strategies for managing energy conservation.
• Reevaluate its priorities and reallocate staff resources to adequately fulfill the requirements of Mayoral Directive 89-1.
• Actively promote and encourage City agencies to undertake energy saving improvements under the ENCORE program. In that regard, the Department should ensure that all available ENCORE financing is used by City agencies.
• Arrange with the respective agencies to undertake the energy saving improvements identified in this report.
• Establish and promulgate energy reduction goals for City agencies.
• Establish methods by which to measure whether its energy conservation guidelines are effective in reducing energy consumption.
• Ensure that its written procedures for ELOs properly emphasize their role and responsibilities in promoting energy conservation. In addition, formal training programs for ELOs should be organized.