Santa Barbara consultants lay out energy master plan, warn water system energy costs could climb to $27 million by 2050

Consultants and city water staff presented a long-range Energy Master Plan to the Santa Barbara Water Commission, outlining technical work, an operational dashboard and a set of projects intended to reduce energy costs and increase resilience.

The presentation, introduced by city staff, described a data pipeline that pulls 15-minute energy usage from Southern California Edison and SBCE plus SCADA flow data into a Power BI dashboard to let operators see energy intensity and rate signals in near real time. "We built an energy dashboard, using Microsoft Power BI tools," the lead presenter said, describing the dashboard as a "living tool" for ongoing monitoring and project evaluation.

Why it matters: the consultant emphasized that the water system is a significant local energy user and is exposed to rate escalation and grid constraints in the Goleta load pocket. "Today, Santa Barbara for the water department spends about $4,800,000 per year on electricity," the consultant said, and under a high-market-growth scenario the consultant modeled that could rise to roughly $27,000,000 a year by 2050. The projection assumes the current desalination usage profile (about 2.8 million gallons per day) and uses escalation inputs from approved tariffs and U.S. Energy Information Administration long-term inflation data; the consultant framed the number as a model outcome rather than a guarantee.

Key recommendations: presenters urged a mix of operational and capital responses rather than large, single solutions. They recommended: - Greater operational flexibility (treat parts of the distribution system as a virtual battery by shifting pump schedules and using time-of-use set points); - Small, targeted microgrid or behind-the-meter projects where feasible (e.g., a modest solar array and battery at a main plant meter rather than immediate large-scale consolidation of multiple meters); - Continued use and expansion of cogeneration and coordinated metering between El Estero wastewater plant and the Charles E. Meyer desalination plant to reduce demand charges; and - Pilots including an equalization pilot at El Estero to shift aeration loads off peak hours.

Thomas Welch, wastewater system manager, described the equalization pilot and operational constraints: "Our preliminary numbers are maybe 5 to 10% of our daily flows are able to be stored in there," he said, adding that treatment tradeoffs and odor issues must be managed. Bradley Rehrer, a principal project manager in the water department, said adding six reverse-osmosis pressure vessels at the desal plant could increase instantaneous capacity by about 15 to 20%, allowing the plant to be taken offline during peak-price hours without reducing annual production.

Finance and programs: the consultants noted some past incentives (federal/state solar credits and the Self-Generation Incentive Program) have expired and that participation in demand-response programs has produced modest revenues in recent years (an example cited was about $108,000 in one program year). They also identified opportunities tied to evolving tariff options for municipal customers that could change the financial case for some projects.

Next steps and uncertainties: the presentation recommended updating process and hydraulic models, completing the El Estero equalization pilot and conducting a biosolids/bioenergy evaluation tied to cogen decisions. The consultants estimated that if "we did everything" in the plan, a rough-order-of-magnitude aggregated cost savings on energy of around 10% might be achievable; the team said it would follow up with a more specific quantified estimate.

A number of questions from commissioners focused on assumptions (desal capacity and water demand), the scope of pilot storage in the collection system and operational training needed to give operators action-ready dashboards. The commission received the presentation and discussed next steps; no formal commission vote was taken on the master plan itself at this meeting.

The commission is expected to consider implementation items and pilots in subsequent meetings and budget cycles.