National Grid is supporting commercial and industrial customers across the state with energy use planning aimed at reducing operating costs and reaching renewable energy targets. Among customers National Grid is working with through its Strategic Energy Management Partnership, or SEMP, is Beech-Nut Nutrition in Amsterdam and Greenpac Mill in Niagara Falls to lower operating costs and improve operational efficiencies.

Beech-Nut
            Beech-Nut also is enrolled in New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s On-site Energy Manager program, or OsEM, which subsidizes energy management staff costs for industrial and commercial facilities to hire a dedicated, part-time or full-time on-site energy manager.

By enrolling in SEMP and OsEM, Beech-Nut can reap multiple benefits. NYSERDA’s On-site Energy Manager identifies energy efficiency opportunities, provides energy team development and management, identifies financial incentive and supports the associated documentation required by National Grid, who subsequently provides financial incentives to undertake the energy efficiency projects. 

“This is a great opportunity for National Grid to work with state resources and our customers to improve energy efficiency and reduce overall demand while providing cost-saving opportunities to large customers,” said Melanie Littlejohn, National Grid vice president for customer and community.

Beech-Nut initiated participation in both programs earlier this year and has used the contractor engagement On-site Energy Manager model to identify multiple natural gas and electricity use reduction opportunities.

“Together, NYSERDA and National Grid are helping to support Beech-Nut’s mission “To leave future generations with a healthier environment”. Sustainability efforts such as electric and natural gas reduction and efficiency improvements are a major part of our mission. These programs have identified thousands of dollars in reduction opportunities and energy cost savings so far, and we look forward to continuing our work to find and address additional efficiency improvement opportunities,” said, Jeff Heiser, VP of Business Support, who is leading Beech-Nut’s sustainability program.

“NYSERDA commends Beech-Nut for demonstrating leadership in combating climate change through their efforts to increase energy efficiency at their facility and reduce electricity and natural gas consumption. As New York works to achieve Governor Cuomo’s ambitious clean energy and climate goals, we need private and public partners to lead the way by actively engaging and investing to improve their energy future,” said NYSERDA President and Acting CEO Doreen M. Harris.

Greenpac Mill 

Greenpac Mill, a manufacturer of lightweight,100 percent recycled linerboard, enrolled in SEMP to adopt a strategic energy management plan that includes an integrated approach to all aspects of energy and environmental management as well as short- and long-term reduction strategies. By partnering with National Grid, GreenPac Mill has access to  a variety of tracking and reporting services, as well as direct access to other National Grid programs, some of which offer financial assistance. In addition, SEMP participants can benefit from National Grid’s demand analysis, which helps customers identify various equipment operation issues and verify the results of implementing increased equipment controls to address those issues.

             In addition to National Grid’s SEMP initiative, Greenpac Mill also participated in two NYSERDA programs: Strategic Energy Management and On-site Energy Manager. The Strategic Energy Management program provides tools, training, an energy coach and peer-to-peer cohort best practice sharing. Meanwhile, the On-site Energy Manager program provides cost-share for industrial, commercial, and multifamily facilities to hire a dedicated on-site energy manager, use an energy contractor, or a hybrid thereof. NYSERDA shares the cost of the energy manager with the customer. Greenpac Mill used the On-site Energy Manager model to hire a consultant and identify multiple electricity use reduction opportunities.
         These programs helped Greenpac Mill establish an energy team, identify energy savings opportunities and create a long-term energy management strategy to work toward achieving its goal of reducing overall plant energy consumption by five percent.
         “Together, NYSERDA and National Grid have supported the components of Greenpac Mill’s sustainability and energy conservation efforts through electricity use reduction and efficiency improvements,” said Craig Eddy, Greenpac Mill’s project leader - operations, whose responsibilities include energy conservation at the Niagara Falls facility.

          Eddy said that NYSERDA’s OsEM program provided an extra set of hands to chip away at what became a long list of cost and energy-saving initiatives. Greenpac Mill has enjoyed a long relationship with National Grid, including participating in  the SEMP initiative, which he referred to as an extension of NYSERDA’s OsEM program.

         “After working with NYSERDA’s On-site Energy Manager program, transitioning to National Grid’s SEMP initiative was a natural next step to keep things moving along,” Eddy said. “We often found that we had a lot of great cost and energy-saving ideas but few resources to execute them. But both of NYSERDA’s programs have been great. They helped us generate ideas and develop project plans. National Grid is helping us execute those plans by providing additional financial resources.”    

Added Harris, "Greenpac Mill’s commitment to increasing energy efficiency and reducing electricity consumption through these programs will serve as an example for other New York businesses that want to lower their operating costs and be part of the climate solution.”

The SEMP initiative provides guidance for: 

- Decreased operating costs via energy efficiency.

- Electric vehicle fleet conversion.

- On-site EV charging capability.

- Installing on-site renewable energy use. 

- Electric energy storage system deployment. 

- Sustainability goal support such as carbon reduction. 

- Cost reduction through load shifting and demand response. 

As one of the largest energy companies in the northeast, National Grid plays a vital role in connecting millions of people to the energy that they use and rely upon every day. The company recently released its Net Zero by 2050 Plan, aimed at achieving Net Zero by 2050, including emissions from the delivery of natural gas and electricity to customers. The plan builds on the company’s Responsible Business Charter, which established National Grid’s commitments to the environment, employees, customers and communities. In upstate New York, over the past three years, National Grid has spent nearly $15 million on incentives for a variety of energy efficiency projects that have saved nearly 964,000 megawatt hours of electricity and 2.1 million dekatherms of natural gas.

Those who would like to learn more about NYSERDA’s programs or National Grid’s SEMP initiative should contact their National Grid or NYSERDA representatives. NYSERDA’s programs are available to industrial facilities throughout the state, while National Grid’s SEMP initiative is available to large industrial customers across National Grid’s upstate New York service area.

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