Staff from the Fort Riley Directorate of Public Works, Energy Branch managed to add up more than $2.6 million in cost savings for the U.S. Army. That six-figure saving was just a part of what earned them the Secretary of the Army Energy and Water Management Award for Energy Efficiency.
The 41st Annual Secretary of the Army Energy and Water Management Awards announced in a ceremony presided over by the Alex A. Beehler, assistant secretary of U.S. Army Installations, Energy and Environment; and Daniel Klippstein, assistant deputy chief of staff, G-9 Headquarters.
The physically distanced ceremony didn't lessen the impact of the DPW energy team achievement. And, according to the DPW Director, the resulting award was the culmination of more than just cost-consciousness on the job. It also had to do with the way the efforts to privatize Fort Riley's utilities were handled and the benefits that will be evident in future years. "This is a huge accomplishment," said Jeff Williamson, Director of DPW. "The Energy savings performance contract coupled with the Utilities Privatization have culminated at a similar time frame bringing $1.3 billion to the Fort Riley utilities Infrastructure. While disparate actions, they have a common
goal of energy and water efficiency. Both actions were originally scoped and planned in 2012 with the ESPC Phase I awarded in fiscal year 17, phase II in FY18 and phase III in FY 19 plus 3 of the 4 utilities - electric, water, wastewater and gas - distribution systems awarded in FY 18 and the gas awarded in FY19."
The contracts not only released Fort Riley from the burden of management and maintenance on these systems but with their implementation, they made a way to guarantee energy savings into the future.