Missing: $1.5M of electricity, gas and water
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Planet Footprint has discovered over $1.5M of unexplained increased consumption of electricity, gas and water amongst hundreds of the 51,000 energy and water accounts that it tracks. This has prompted us to ask that all of our clients make immediate use of their Organisation Anomaly Report to explain the anomalies and take corrective action.
Looking only at the quarter ended 31 March 2009 Planet Footprint found 780 water accounts, 455 electricity accounts and 24 mains gas accounts that have a 50% or greater increase in consumption over the same quarter in 2008. The search only included significant sized accounts, with annual consumption of at least 4 ML of water (around $6,400), 40 MWh of electricity ($5,200) or 10 GJ of natural gas (around $150). So each of these anomalies is well worth further investigation.
Below this threshhold there are thousands of other accounts that also show unexplained increases in consumption, and would add up to many millions of dollars. All anomalies are adjusted to exlude fluctuations caused by normal seasonal variation.
A great many of these anomalies will have logical explanations. For example, a library or retirement village may have opened a new wing since the previous year, or a water pumping station may have been recommissioned after a change in infrastructure. But however well the anomalies can be explained there is little excuse for non-action since the discovery of even one anomaly that's caused by misuse of equipment, leaking pipes etc could save thousands fo dollars and avert serious adverse ongoing environmental impact.
Planet Footprint has always reported on these anomalies as part of the standard subscription. Last year we launched the Organisation Anomaly Report, which shows the biggest anomalies first and lets our clients explain anomalies. Explained anomalies can be hidden from the list, which the list of visible anomalies 'fresh', and the explanations are stored in our system as a valuable reference for use in case the same account or property should experience another anomaly in the future.
While some clients have made very good use of this service to proactively address energy and water usage issues as they arise, the general uptake amongst Planet Footprint clients has been slow.
The 'increase in consumption over same quarter previous year' is just one of the anomalies that Planet Footprint has covered. Other anomalies tracked include.
- 'accounts with zero consumption but ongoing usage charges' and are putting the finishing touches on tracking
- 'accounts where the meter is being estimated' - saves you getting a large electricity bill after years of your utility failing to read your meter. New
- 'accounts with a decrease in consumption based on previous years' - share the good news. New
What you should do to take corrective action
You should act immedately to ensure you are not losing money and jeopardising your reputation. If you are subscribed to Planet Footprint:
- Log in to the Subscribers area and download your latest Organisation Anomaly Report*.
- Read our quick guide about how to use the Organisation Anomaly Report
- Call us on 1300 721 113 if you have any questions
If you're not subscribed to Planet Footprint, you could save the subscription price many times over just by acting on the anomalies in your first set of reports, not to mention the other benefits of having on-demand environmental scorekeeping. Subscribe or find out more about what we do.