Power Savings at North Shore City
With threats of power cuts looming this winter, North Shore City Council is continuing to make savings wherever
possible.
Property services manager Phil Evans says the council has ongoing reminders in place for staff to turn off lights,
computers and other equipment whenever it's not in use, and this has been effective in keeping power usage down.
The current savings programme has prompted the council to once again remind staff "to switch off", and the city's
internal electronic news sheet lists ways to cut power both at work and at home.
Mr Evans says an energy management team drawn from key council departments meets regularly to put energy efficiency
measures in place. These include:
* replacing lights in the head office building and Takapuna Libraries with energy-efficient triphosphor lamps
* testing the efficiency of energy-efficient lamps in street lights
* reviewing and where possible reducing air conditioning needs and running times
* winning further efficiencies from the electricity generator at the wastewater treatment plant, which uses gases
generated by the treatment system to generate electricity, providing about half the plant's electricity needs
* carrying out an energy audit of the Glenfield Leisure Centre.
* undertaking a "switch off" audit of all council facilities, covering computers, monitors, printers and
photocopiers
* ongoing reminders to all staff through electronic newsletters.
* ratification of the energy saving policy as members of the Energywise Council's Partnership
* seeking more detailed information from the city's power supplier to help control and monitor consumption
Mr Evans says he is confident that savings have been made, and efforts will continue. But safety won't be compromised,
and some initiatives can be hard to compare and quantify. And with the council running so many essential services such
as sewage and stormwater pumping stations, it can be difficult to make any effective changes in those areas.