South Carolina Energy Office Selects SchoolDude.com to provide Internet-Based Energy Tracking and Accounting for State Agencies
Since the contract was finalized last year, more than 50 South Carolina agencies have already implemented SchoolDude’s web-native UtilityDirect program. This Internet–based, multi-agency energy tracking and information system is one of the largest and most widely implemented of its type by state governments. The estimated value of this contract – including SCEO fees, agency fees, and additional services over the 5-year term – exceeds $1 million.
The statewide initiative is part of the South Carolina S.A.V.E.$ (Schools and Agencies Verify Energy Dollars) program, which was developed by the SCEO in 1994 to assist schools, colleges and state government agencies in controlling their energy costs. When the program began ten years ago, S.A.V.E.$ participants received PC-based energy accounting software and training to track, analyze, and print reports on energy and other utilities. The PC-based software was an excellent tool for many years, but it was becoming obsolete due to changes in the product’s corporate ownership status. The PC-based product is now being phased out and replaced with SchoolDude’s web-native UtilityDirect system. The SCEO is subsidizing a portion of the costs for participating state agencies.
“Moving our agencies to an Internet-based tool will dramatically simplify the process of submitting energy reports and rolling up that information to the state. This better supports our users and makes the application more useful for managing energy costs at the agency level,” said Julia Parris, the South Carolina S.A.V.E.$ Program Coordinator.
The SCEO, supported by the South Carolina Chief Information Office, requested proposals in June 2003 for a statewide web-based energy accounting system to be made available to all school districts, state agencies, and public colleges. The SCEO staff and an evaluation committee composed of energy managers from a large university, several school districts, and a state agency, selected SchoolDude.com’s proposal from the five firms that submitted a response.
“SchoolDude has successfully implemented and trained more than 50 South Carolina schools, colleges, universities, and state agencies on the UtilityDirect product, and we are in the process of rolling out the UtilityDirect Global view, which allows the state to aggregate and manage reports from the various agencies,” said Lee Prevost, President of SchoolDude.com. “We are also very pleased that most of these agencies have additionally elected to utilize some of our other web-native applications, including our work order management and facility scheduling systems.”
SchoolDude’s product suite is designed specifically for educational institutions and includes solutions for work order processing, technology workflow management, preventive maintenance scheduling, facility usage scheduling, capital planning, utility tracking and inventory management. Because the application services are delivered over the Internet, the technology is affordable for both small and large districts. More than 700 educational institutions across the nation are already utilizing SchoolDude’s web-native solutions.
Utility bills typically comprise a significant 25-percent of the overall maintenance and operations budget for school districts, or two to three percent of the overall operating budget. But according to the National Center for Education Statistics, 61% of public school districts experienced energy budget shortfalls in 2001. It is estimated that S.C. agencies spend nearly $200 million per year on utility costs. Providing these agencies with tools that can help them reduce their utility costs, even a mere two to three percent, could save the state millions and pay for this project many times over.
