168 Energy Project Financing: Resources and Strategies for Success
at water and wastewater use and costs as part of the audit
visit. These costs are often related to the energy costs at a facil-
ity. Wastewater charges are usually based on some proportion of
the metered water use, since the solids are difficult to meter. This
can needlessly result in substantial increases in the utility bill for
processes which do not contribute to the wastewater stream (e.g.,
makeup water for cooling towers and other evaporative devices,
irrigation, etc.). A water meter can be installed at the service main
to supply the loads not returning water to the sewer system. This
can reduce the charges by up to two-thirds.Energy bills should be broken down into the components that
can be controlled by the facility. These cost components can be listed
individually in tables and then plotted. For example, electricity bills
should be broken down into power demand costs per kW per month,
and energy costs per kWh. The following example illustrates the parts
of a rate structure for an industry in Florida.
Example: A company that fabricates metal products gets electric-
ity from its electric utility at the following general service demand rate
structure.
Rate structure:
Customer cost = $21.00 per month
Energy cost = $0.051 per kWh
Demand cost = $6.50 per kW per month
Taxes = Total of 8%
Fuel adjustment = A variable amount per
kWh each month
The energy use and costs for that company for a year are summarized
below:
The auditor must be sure to account for all the taxes, the fuel ad-
justment costs, the fixed charges, and any other costs so that the true
cost of the controllable energy cost components can be determined. In
the electric rate structure described above, the quoted costs for a kW of
demand and a kWh of energy are not complete until all these additional
costs are added. Although the rate structure says there is a basic charge
of $6.50 per kW per month, the actual cost, including all taxes, is $7.02
per kW per month. The average cost per kWh is most easily obtained