Washington, D.C.- White House and U.S. Department of Energy officials recognized Pepco and other key partners in the effort to make America's buildings more energy efficient.  Pepco's Commercial Program Manager for Demand Side Management, Manuel Vera, received personal recognition for his leadership at a White House ceremony Wednesday night.  Vera leads the company's initiative that makes it easier for building owners to access and understand energy data for the whole building and enable energy performance benchmarking.  This also provides opportunities to improve energy and cost efficiencies.

"During my 25 years with Pepco, my passion has been to help customers manage their energy use," Vera said. "With this project, our team had the opportunity to do something innovative that will serve as an example for other utilities."

The recognition is part of the DOE's 2015 Better Buildings Summit, an annual conference showcasing the best practices in energy efficiency.  Pepco and other leading organizations are gathering this week to showcase solutions that cut energy intensity in buildings and plants by 20 percent over the next ten years.

Pepco makes an energy data management tool developed by Schneider Electric called Resource Advisor available to commercial customers, building owners and property owners in the company's DC and Maryland service territories.  The tool allows building owners to retrieve utility data for the purpose of whole-building energy performance benchmarking.   The District of Columbia and Montgomery County, MD, require building owners to report annual benchmarking scores.  This reporting process helps commercial property owners identify and prioritize efficiency upgrades to save energy and lower operating costs.   

Schneider Electric's Resource Advisor automates a previously cumbersome process of collecting usage data for an entire building with multiple meters and inputting the data into third-party benchmarking tools.

"As the Better Buildings Initiative enters its fourth year, leaders continue to showcase how saving energy saves money, creates jobs, and most importantly accelerates the nation's competitiveness in the clean energy economy while preserving our environment for generations to come," said Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz.

Energy Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Kathleen Hogan, said Pepco's Resource Advisor solution strengthens Pepco's customer service and clean energy leadership and "sets a national example for utilities to follow."