Effingham County board votes to terminate Centrica measurement-and-verification services, contingent on no penalty

Effingham County voted to terminate the measurement-and-verification portion of a Centrica contract for building energy improvements, contingent on receiving written confirmation that termination will not trigger a penalty.

County staff told the board that the original contract included annual measurement-and-verification (M&V) services tied to HVAC, water and lighting measures for 15 years. Staff detailed scheduled charges if the county continued the M&V services beyond the first year: $2,972 for year two, $3,062 for year three, rising incrementally to about $4,365 in the final year of the 15-year schedule.

The county paid the first year as part of the broader contract and said it had not budgeted for the multi-year charge stream. Staff reported difficulty remotely accessing some system data used to verify savings, and said that certain measures required stipulations rather than direct measurement due to access limitations.

Jeremy Daters moved to terminate the M&V portion of the Centrica agreement if termination carries no fee to the county; Sandy Rich seconded. The board recorded a unanimous vote in favor and the chair said staff would return to the board if Centrica indicates any termination penalty.

Board members discussed who would monitor savings and said county staff could perform year-over-year spot checks comparing utility use before and after upgrades. Staff offered to pull prior usage records and provide a comparison if the board wanted a verification approach without the vendor’s annual M&V service.

The board instructed staff to secure written confirmation that termination carries no charge and to bring any contrary information back to the board for further action.