The School District of Philadelphia recently implemented an energy cost reduction program that will save an estimated $1.2 million annually, beginning in May 2016. The School District reduced its electricity usage during the summer of 2015 at times when electricity demand in Pennsylvania was at its highest.

The electricity grid in Pennsylvania is operated by the PJM Interconnection, an independent system operator, which makes payments to power generators for the availability of their generation sources.  To fund these payments, PJM administers capacity auctions to establish the rates customers pay for this component of their delivered electricity, which can be as much as 20-30% of their total power bill.  However, the rate is not the only factor which determines a customer’s capacity cost.  The other component is a customer’s peak load contribution (PLC) or “capacity obligation”. The PLC is a customer’s average peak electricity demand measured on the five highest demand days of the summer.  

Although capacity rates are set by the PJM Interconnection, customers have the ability to manage their PLC.  In 2015, The School District of Philadelphia worked with their electricity supplier, Noble Americas Energy Solutions, to implement a PLC management program as part of a comprehensive energy purchasing strategy.  Using its proprietary software, Noble forecasted the five peak periods and notified the School District in advance.

The School District’s Facilities Management and the Office of Procurement Services departments collaboratively deployed a team of volunteers to temporarily shut off equipment at individual School District facilities during these peak periods when it was safe to do so.

The volunteers, all high school interns from The School District of Philadelphia, were key to the success of the program and learned valuable business lessons. They represented Benjamin Franklin and Parkway Center City high schools, Science Leadership Academy and Kensington Health Sciences Academy.

Noble Americas Energy Solutions LLC is a leading retail electricity service provider in the United States. Headquartered in San Diego, Calif., the company has regional offices in Texas, Illinois, Ohio, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. Noble’s focus is on providing best in class energy risk management solutions for its commercial and industrial clients.  

The School District of Philadelphia is the largest school district in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the eighth-largest public school system in the United States.  Enrollment includes more than 200,000 students in public, charter and alternative schools, and more than 17,250 employees. Under the leadership of Superintendent William R. Hite, the vision of the School District is to deliver on the right of every child in Philadelphia to an excellent public school education and ensure all children graduate from high school ready to succeed. The School District's strategic mission, outlined in Action Plan 3.0, focuses on grade-level literacy, quality instruction and leadership, college- and career-readiness and financial stability. For more information about the School District, visit www.philasd.org.