Utility savings on track at YSU Annual bills likely to go down $1.4M

The university expects to save at least $1.3 million a year, over a decade.

By HAROLD GWIN

VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER

YOUNGSTOWN — Early findings indicate that a plan to cut energy costs at Youngstown State University is paying off.

Work has been completed on new campus lighting and the installation of new heating and cooling equipment and controls, and utility savings for July amounted to $117,228, according to John Hyden, executive director of facilities.

Calculating that over a 12-month period would translate into an annual savings of just over $1.4 million, Hyden recently told the university’s board of trustees.

The trustees approved the energy reduction plan in December 2005, agreeing to spend nearly $11.5 million on energy saving measures, paying off that expense over 10 years with a projected $15.7 million in energy savings and reduced operating costs over that period.

The spending covered just under $10 million in actual project costs and some $1.4 million in interest charges over the 10-year financing period.

Here was the concern

The trustees were told that YSU’s utility costs reached $4.2 million in fiscal 2005 and were expected to reach $5.3 million annually by 2015 unless energy saving and more efficient equipment was installed now.

Johnson Controls Inc. was picked to design and implement the plan, and, as part of that contract, has guaranteed the university that it will save at least $1.3 million a year in energy costs over that 10-year time span.

The savings will continue beyond that guarantee, Hyden said, adding that the initial savings look good.

All of the improvement work was completed in June, and July was the first full month under the program, Hyden said.

He noted the $117,228 savings was based on evaluating monthly electric and steam bills, using a baseline determined by taking a sample of utility usage over a one-year period and adjusting for weather conditions.

The bulk of the campus is heated by steam purchased from Youngstown Thermal and is cheaper than using natural gas, Hyden said.

It isn’t cost-effective for the university to produce its own steam, he noted.

Hyden cautioned that the savings aren’t dollars that the university will then have available to spend.

gwin@vindy.com