(89a) Primary Benchmark, a Collaborative Tool for Water Utility Energy Planning

Primary Benchmark is a new collaborative energy planning tool for water and wastewater utilities. Water utilities are working hard to reduce energy consumption, increase water conservation, manage the water-energy nexus, and build sustainable infrastructure. Tracking energy consumption and understanding energy trends are two of the many activities needed for operating an energy efficient water utility. Primary Benchmark was developed to reduce the labor required for energy management, and help water utilities manage their energy use.  

This presentation demonstrates Primary Benchmark, a free web-based tool that allows water utility operators, engineers, and managers to track energy benchmarks, create energy teams, manage energy goals, and compare their facilities. The presentation will use real data to show how Primary Benchmark can be implemented by water or wastewater utilities.

Primary Benchmark keeps all relevant energy data in one place and efficiently presents data for communication with operators, engineers, and managers throughout an organization. Energy data can be manually entered or uploaded directly to Primary Benchmark.  Where available, data from electrical and gas utilities can be uploaded directly from the utility company.

Data uploaded to Primary Benchmark is completely private and not shared with third parties.  Water utilities have the option of participating in Benchmark Share, a program that allows water and wastewater utilities to see how their facilities compare to those of other water and wastewater utilities.  This feature enables greater collaboration between utilities.  Creating opportunities for learning from each other helps water utilities share ideas and become more efficient.

In addition to improved communication and collaboration, Primary Benchmark improves energy management by sending notifications to users about their facility’s energy trends, upcoming energy goals, and important water-energy information.

Primary Benchmark is freely available at www.primarybenchmark.com.  Development of Primary Benchmark is an open collaboration of Erg Process Energy.  To get involved or learn more, visit www.primarybenchmark.com.