Energy Management Programs for Colleges and Universities

• Print Page
• Email Page

Colleges and universities spend close to $2 billion each year on energy. Adopting a strategic approach to energy management can lower a campus’s energy bills by 30% or more.

A campus can lower its energy bill and redirect millions of dollars each year into facilities, professors’ salaries, computers, and more, simply by using energy efficiently and by installing energy-efficient equipment. For example, energy-efficient lighting and heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems typically reduce annual utility bills by an average of 20%.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) can help colleges and universities decrease energy use and costs by implementing energy efficiency programs and measures. Lower energy costs leave more funds to meet your campus’s educational goals.

Our Energy Management programs include:

Energy Efficiency

Energy Audits

• On-Site Energy Audit—Learn simple ways to save energy and money for your campus with an on-site energy audit. Receive a report with energy-saving tips, plus rebates and incentives from PG&E to benefit your campus.
• Integrated Energy Audit—An integrated energy audit is designed for larger customers with electric demands of more than 200 kilowatts and provides a comprehensive view of all of your energy management options, enabling you to build a campus-wide energy management strategic plan.
• Targeted Energy Audit—A targeted energy audit focuses on specific end-use systems and identifies strategies and technologies that offer immediate energy savings for your campus. PG&E will work with you to identify the best solutions.

Savings By Design, Incentives Designed for New School Construction and Modernizations

• Savings by Design is an incentive program for new school construction and modernization projects that trigger Title 24. The program provides design tools, resources and incentives to promote energy-efficient building design and construction.

Retrofits, Incentives Designed for Smaller Projects in Existing Campus Buildings

• Your campus can save energy and money with PG&E’s customized financial incentives. PG&E rewards you for undertaking projects that increase energy efficiency and reduce electrical demand.

Rebates for Existing Campus Facilities’ Equipment

• Rebates are available for numerous energy-efficient products listed in the rebate catalogs. Simply purchase, install, and apply for your cash rebate.

Retrocommissioning to Optimize the Energy Efficiency of the Equipment on your Campus

• Retrocommissioning (RCx) can help you optimize the performance of your campus’s existing building equipment, lighting, and control systems. It’s an efficient, affordable alternative to retrofitting.

Campus Housing Energy Solutions

• The Campus Housing Efficiency Solutions Program will identify campuses with student residences most suitable for energy efficiency upgrades, and provide incentives with either rebates and/or installation support services to ensure that cost-effective savings are achieved.

UC-CSU and CCC Statewide Partnership Program

• PG&E partners with state colleges and universities to optimize energy-efficient operations and maintenance practices and to improve the performance of a campus’s existing building. To learn more and participate in this partnership, please visit PG&E's Statewide Partnership Programs page.

Demand Response Programs

• PG&E's Demand Response programs offer incentives to colleges and universities to curtail electrical load or demand during times of peak system demand. Find out how your campus can benefit financially while helping the state reduce its electrical demand.

Self-Generation Program

• The Self-Generation Incentive Program provides financial incentives to colleges and universities that install new, qualifying self-generation equipment, such as photovoltaic and wind generators.

ClimateSmart™: Carbon offsets

• The ClimateSmart program allows you to easily balance out the greenhouse gas emissions from your campus's energy use by investing in projects that capture or reduce greenhouse gases. To learn more and join today, visit the ClimateSmart website.

Getting Started

To take advantage of PG&E's various energy management solutions for colleges and universities — cash rebates and incentives, energy analyses, workshops, and more — contact your local PG&E representative or the Business Customer Service Center at 1-800-468-4743.

For more information, please email BusinessCustomerHelp@pge.com.

Training and Resources

Learn about the latest energy efficiency technologies and best practices within your industry.