Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Energy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
District projects lower energy costs after audits, estimates 13% reduction for 2025
Summary
At a Highlands County School Board meeting, the district's energy manager reported year-to-date savings tied to audits, equipment scheduling and other efficiency measures and projected a roughly 13% reduction in annual energy spending for 2025.
At a Highlands County School Board meeting, Edwin Delgado, the district's manager of energy and utilities, said the district's energy-management measures are producing lower bills and projected a decrease in total annual energy spending for 2025.
Delgado told the board the district spent about $3,430,000 for energy through February 2024 and that, based on records from October 2023 through March 2024 and spending so far in 2025, the district is on track to spend about $2,850,000 for the year. "With an average monthly rate of approximately $243,000 we estimate our total yearly expenditure to be around 2,850,000.00," Delgado said. He added: "This is roughly a 13% reduction."
The presentation credited weekly facility audits, adjusted HVAC scheduling for holidays and events, LED lighting rollout and routine filter maintenance for the early savings. Delgado said the district has spent a little over $659,000 on energy in 2025 so far, averaging about $220,000 per month. He described the two most expensive months as February and November, which align with higher heating and cooling usage.
Delgado described operational steps the energy team has taken: weekly audits to flag inefficiencies, AC scheduling to avoid unnecessary running during long weekends, deployment of LED fixtures in coordination with facilities and maintaining HVAC filters on roughly a six-week cycle. He said those measures let the district detect problems quickly and reduce unnecessary consumption.
Superintendent Dr. Longshore introduced Delgado and thanked him; Board member Dr. Durrance called the report "encouraging" as the district continues early-stage work on energy management. Delgado said the projected 2025 spending figure includes actual spending through March and modeled costs for April through December.
No formal action was taken. Delgado closed by thanking the board and district leadership and said saved funds could be reinvested into schools.
The presentation materials included monthly cost graphs and a school-by-school breakdown showing improved compliance with efficiency practices across elementary, middle and high schools.
