ENERGY MANAGEMENT TOOL (EMT)

The LAS Energy Management Tool (EMT) allows Ontario municipalities to take control of their energy costs by benchmarking facility performance, measuring and verifying savings from energy conservation projects, monitoring processes, and by enabling environmental stewardship goals including greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions. Municipalities with interval meters will also be able to utilize the software to accurately manage accounts in real-time.

The EMT is a web-based system available through the LAS website. The EMT allows municipalities to track electricity, natural gas, and water accounts, and is available to all Ontario municipalities regardless of location, size, number of facilities, or internal resources.

To learn more about the EMT and to see it in action please join LAS staff for a Webex demonstration -  click here for dates and time!

In addition, for a brief introduction to the EMT you can view our EMT Flash Overview.  (You will need Adobe Flash Player  to view this file).

The EMT has impressive functionality including, robust reporting, billing and trending components, as well as modeling capabilities that allow users to create text, numerical, and graphic summaries of sophisticated operations on any range of data sets—simple or complex. Below is an example of an EMT report on GHG emissions:

The EMT is a customized version of the PowerLogic ION EEM enterprise energy management software developed and supported Schneider Electric – an industry leader. Schneider has worked closely with LAS staff to make required enhancements to the EMT so that it is meaningful for all municipal energy needs (i.e. allowing for the tracking of emissions and other key indicators).

To learn more about EMT program benefits please review our Program Benefits document or the EMT Program Brochure (This brochure is a large file and will take a moment to download).

Service Options:
To encourage usage by all municipalities regardless of size or staff capacity, LAS offers two EMT service packages: the Self-Serve option allows users to handle many of the day-to-day tasks themselves so it is ideal for municipalities who can allocate their own resources to the project; Full-Serve users can take advantage of LAS staff expertise to carry out these tasks for them.  The following chart breaks down the expected responsibilities between LAS and the municipality for the Self-Serve and Full-Serve Options respectively.

Both self-serve and full-serve users enjoy the following services:

• Help desk support on the use of the software plus data verification
• LAS takes care of all hosting and maintenance requirements plus software upgrades
• Automatic updates to greenhouse gas emission factors and net system load shapes
• Access to training and education sessions offered on-line and throughout the province

In addition, Full-Serve users are also entitled to data review by LAS staff as well as preparation and dissemination of requested reports to all local users on a regular basis.

EMT Testimonial: “The EMT system has been an invaluable tool for managing and providing information required for the Corporation to assess its strategic initiatives related to energy management… We believe that our continued partnership with AMO-LAS provides us with a strategic advantage in managing our valuable energy resources.” Bernie Edwards - Facilities & Fleet Department City of Thunder Bay

Cost of EMT Service:
The EMT has been developed to assist municipalities in better tracking, understanding, and managing their energy consumption.  So that we are able to provide adequate support to our municipal users, to ensure that we have a safe environment to store all user data, and to allow us to enhance and upgrade the software as required, LAS must charge a modest start-up and monthly fee for EMT access.  We believe that both the self serve and full serve fees are very reasonable – to learn more about EMT costs please review the EMT Overview Information Sheet. 

To assist in determining what service options are available and what the expected cost for each would be for your municipality, please use our EMT Service Options Calculator.  This tool was developed by LAS to provide members with a simple cost assessment of the various service levels and options available related to the EMT.

Accessing Energy Consumption Data:
Our business model is premised on the belief that self serve users will input their own data into the EMT, and that full serve users will either get LAS to assist with data input or will develop a relationship with their local utility related to the regular provision of data.  Regardless of your situation, LAS can help you access and input the data needed for the EMT.  Information about data requirements and available options are available in the EMT Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ).

Getting Started
Enrollment in the EMT service does require some staff involvement but is not overly arduous.  Information must be provided by the municipality for each electricity, natural gas, and water account that is to be enrolled in the EMT, including a facility name and account number, etc. All of this information is coded by LAS and imported into the software, and then historic and ongoing data are linked to the enrolled municipal sources (accounts).  LAS staff will work with each interested municipality to work through these steps.

For more information about EMT functionality, please contact Deborah Hannah, Business Systems Analyst,   416-971-9856 | 1-877-426-6527 | DHannah@amo.on.ca

For information about EMT service offerings, pricing, and other questions please contact Chris Hanlon, Manager, Energy, email:  CHanlon@amo.on.ca, (416) 971-9856 ext. 356 or Scott Vokey, LAS Energy Services Coordinator at svokey@amo.on.ca.