The Role of Energy Managers Is Changing: Are You Prepared?

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The changing energy management landscape has created the opportunity to use less and save more, but it’s also made energy management a much more complex job than even a few years ago. Energy and facility managers are being pushed to reinvent themselves in an era when many believe asking for help is tantamount to losing their jobs.

In reality, the job of an energy manager has changed dramatically, requiring a new skill set that includes long-term planning and investment decisions that have a greater impact on an organization’s overall health. Time and again, we hear our clients struggling to make the switch from a day-to-day tactical approach to a more long-term strategic approach. If you can relate to all this, you’re not alone.

Understanding the latest trends and embracing new strategies and services can make a huge difference to your organization. We’re seeing clients leaving potentially millions in unrealized cost savings on the table by not reacting to the changing energy landscape. Many of our clients are saving up to 30% with a strategic energy management program (and elevating their own role within their organization at the same time).

Challenging issues energy managers are being faced with:

• Difficulty moving from tactical to strategic energy management, with more than 50% of organizations moving towards this approach and seeing the results.

• You’re being asked to do more with less. Managing the resource and expertise gap you increasingly face will only get more difficult in an industry with an aging workforce and a shortage of qualified and trained energy engineers. See my earlier blog to learn more about this. (Energy + Big Data = Big Energy Data: Trends and Implications).

• It’s difficult to build an energy business case if you don’t have access to the right data.   Many managers lack proper data collection, reporting, and visibility into the performance of existing investments.

• Many facility and operations professionals are being tasked with energy management responsibilities and haven’t been given the training needed to be effective.

• It’s complicated to choose a solution for your organization from an ever-growing portfolio of energy management software and service solutions. Deciding what the best fit is and what return you can expect is tough when everyone promises performance.

To understand more about what energy managers around the globe are doing to stay ahead in this environment, please join us for a webinar, “Trends in Energy Management: Where Should Your Next Investment Be?,” hosted by Today’s Facility Manager magazine on June 11 at 2 pm ET.

Along with our Schneider Electric energy management expert, Jesse Maestas, you’ll also hear from Verdantix Energy Analyst Susan Clarke on key energy management trends and how organizations around the globe are responding, as well as from Director of Facilities Jason Hartley from the University of North Texas Health Science Center about how his organization overcame these challenges and achieved $1 million in energy savings annually.

And, to help you take the next steps with your own energy management program, all registrants will receive a 20-page eBook on trends and investment options following the webinar. Please join us for this informative industry briefing.