Working on a large manufacturing client here in Des Moines and their MidAmerican Energy usage seems way off compared to similar facilities. They're hitting 28.5 kWh per square foot annually while industry benchmark for their SIC code is around 18-22. Anyone have more recent benchmarking data for industrial accounts in Iowa? Their rate schedule is G-41 if that helps with the analysis.
MidAmerican Energy kWh/sq ft benchmarks - anyone have recent data?
Norm, that does seem high for manufacturing. Down here with CPS Energy we typically see 20-25 kWh/sq ft for similar operations. Have you checked if they're including process heating in that calculation? Sometimes facilities don't separate out their electric heating loads when doing benchmarking. Also worth looking at their power factor - poor PF can really skew the numbers.
Angela makes a good point about power factor. I've seen CL&P accounts where reactive power charges were buried in the energy calculation. For your MidAmerican client, check if they have any large motor loads or arc welding equipment. Those can push power factor below 0.85 and trigger penalties that inflate the apparent energy usage when doing benchmarking calculations.
I work with a lot of NYSEG and National Grid accounts and we use the DOE's Energy Star Portfolio Manager for benchmarking. Their manufacturing database shows 15-30 kWh/sq ft depending on the specific industry. Norm, what type of manufacturing is this? Food processing runs much higher than say, textiles or electronics assembly. That context really matters for accurate benchmarking.
Thanks all - this is automotive parts manufacturing, mostly machining and some heat treating. Gail, I'll check Energy Star but I think their 28.5 is still too high even for that sector. Angela, good catch on the power factor issue. I need to dig deeper into their bill analysis. The G-41 schedule has demand ratchets that might be inflating their effective rate too.
Auto parts with heat treating will definitely run higher than average manufacturing. Idaho Power territory here, but I've audited similar facilities that hit 25-32 kWh/sq ft legitimately. The induction furnaces and quench tanks are energy hogs. Have you verified their square footage calculation? Sometimes they exclude warehouse/office space which skews the denominator.
Warren's right about the square footage issue. I caught a client in San Antonio including only production floor space but using total facility energy consumption. When we recalculated with full building square footage, they dropped from 31 kWh/sq ft to 22 kWh/sq ft. Makes a huge difference in the benchmarking analysis.
Final thought - MidAmerican has been pushing time-of-use rates pretty hard lately. If your client is running heat treating during peak hours, that could explain the high costs even if the kWh usage is reasonable. The G-41 peak period runs 1-7 PM weekdays if I remember correctly. Might be worth analyzing their load profile by time of day.