Appendix A

Monthly Consumption Monitoring Database

C.G.S. Sec. 16a-37u requires the Office of Policy and Management to monitor energy use and costs of budgeted state agencies on a monthly basis. OPM began to collect energy fuel usage data from state agencies in 1981. Detailed monthly usage and expenditure data from FY 92 to the present are accessible through an ACCESS database.

The Monthly Consumption Monitoring Database tracks facility-related energy use and expenditures, by utility and fuel type, as reported by each budgeted agency. The database covers heating, cooling, and electricity. It does not include water or sewer data, nor nonfacility-related usage such as highway lighting or motor vehicles.

The types of energy tracked in the database are electricity, natural gas, district heating and cooling, three types of oil (No. 2, No. 4, and No. 6), and propane. Data about generated energy (i.e., kWh) are also collected, where applicable.

For each agency, the database contains monthly statistics showing the dollars spent and the relevant quantity (e.g., kWh, Ccf, gallon, etc.) consumed for each type of energy reported. Agencies are instructed to report this information based on the ending date of the billing cycle. Thus, the data reflect the month when the energy was consumed, not the month when the bill was received or paid.

The database calculates the average annual price each reporting agency paid for each type of utility and fuel. It also calculates statewide average prices for all of the reporting agencies combined. The database also shows what portion of an agency's energy use is supplied by each specific electric and natural gas utility service provider.

Process. OPM provides agencies with a form to use for reporting monthly data. Agencies are asked to submit the information within 30 days of the end of each calendar month.

About twice a year, OPM sends out delinquency letters to agencies that fail to submit data. Each letter, which is addressed to the designated agency contact person, lists the monthly reports that are missing and includes a reminder that the information is statutorily required. In some cases, telephone calls are made to remind agencies that data have not been submitted.

At the completion of the fiscal year, OPM sends each agency a printout of the data submitted for that year, and agencies are asked to confirm the accuracy of the information. They are asked to correct inaccurate data and/or provide missing data. Agencies have until early September to respond. If OPM does not hear from an agency by the requested date, the data are presumed to be correct.

Participation. The number of reporting agencies in the database varies from year to year based on openings, closings, or consolidations as well as budgeted status. (For example, data for FY 00 included information for 119 different locations within 39 agencies and commissions.)

Some agencies collapse the data for all of their buildings into a single monthly report. Others, such as the Department of Correction (DOC) and the Department of Education (SDE), report data for each institution they operate. Thus, DOC submits data separately for 24 locations and SDE for 21 sites including the 17 regional vocational-technical schools. The University of Connecticut groups its submission into three reports -- Storrs, the regional campuses, and the Health Center.

Reports. The information in the Monthly Consumption Monitoring Database can be analyzed in a variety of ways. OPM annually reports statewide data for each of the categories of information collected. Upon request, the data also can be reported for other periods of time, including the most recent 12-month period, or for specific utility and fuel types.

As the only comprehensive collection of state energy consumption data on a facility level, the information in the database is very valuable. OPM and some individual state agencies use the database for internal analytical purposes.

Use of the database for comparisons over time must be done carefully. The specific facility level of data may change from year to year as portions of buildings or entire facilities are opened or closed. In addition, if an agency, particularly one that consumes large quantities of energy, did not submit all of its data for a given year, then total energy consumption for that year would be under-reported.

The tables on the next page display quantity and cost information from state fiscal year 1990 through state fiscal year 2002 for the primary energy sources used by state facilities. The tables were prepared by the Office of Policy and Management from the Monthly Consumption Monitoring Database.