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BCPS reports 11% drop in kilowatt usage so far; administrators urge focusing on kWh over dollar savings
Summary
Facilities staff reported an average 11% reduction in kilowatt-hour consumption across buildings—exceeding the 7% target—while warning that bill amounts may not track linearly with kWh because of rate components and riders.
Facilities director JB Heslop told the board that the district is averaging an 11% reduction in kilowatt-hour consumption compared with last year, exceeding a 7% reduction target and representing about 443,343 kWh saved to date.
Heslop recommended the board focus performance reporting on kWh consumption rather than raw dollar savings because Dominion utility bills include distribution, fuel, transmission and other riders that can vary independently of usage. "When our kilowatt hour usage decreases, we know that our conservation efforts are reducing the amount of electricity our facilities consume," he said, while cautioning that it does not always translate to dollar-for-dollar bill reductions. Heslop provided building-level variance (primary, elementary, middle, CTE, bus shop, etc.) and noted HVAC maintenance and cooling-tower work as areas being addressed.
Board members asked about billing structure and the district's ability to budget for utilities; Heslop said finance uses prior-year data to build POs and forecasts and that reductions prevented larger bill increases that would otherwise have occurred.
