Consulting Services for an Energy Efficiency Project in ESCO Mode

CSSS Richelieu-Yamaska needed to launch a call for applications and a call for proposals to attain its energy efficiency (EE) objectives by using an energy performance contracting (EPC) approach. This project aimed to implement EE measures in six buildings located in four cities with a total of over 700 beds. One of the residential centres equipped with a thermal power station and a laundry facility was responsible for washing bed linen for all the buildings managed by CSSS Richelieu-Yamaska.   This residential centre wanted to hire support services to help implement EE using the EPC approach.

As part of this project, Econoler was commissioned to carry out the following tasks:

• Energy service company (ESCO) selection process:
• Preparing all the documentation and managing all the work related to the call for applications and the call for proposals;
• Organizing meetings between bidders and CSSS Richelieu-Yamaska;
• Evaluating the conformity of financial arrangements and scenarios in the proposals;
• Evaluating the technical merits of proposals and providing support for selecting the successful bidder;
• Modifying the detailed feasibility study agreement proposed in the call for proposals to ESCOs;
• Participating and consulting with CSSS Richelieu-Yamaska as to the proposed solutions of the detailed feasibility study;
• Validating the technical and financial aspects of the detailed feasibility study;
• Commenting on existing M&V plans and suggesting changes so they adhere to the International Performance Measurement and Verification Protocol (IPMVP);
• Providing support to CSSS Richelieu-Yamaska from its contract negotiation with the selected ESCO through to the signing of the EPC contract.

  Econoler adapted the documents related to the call for applications and the call for proposals to accommodate the particularities of project objectives, financial constraints and building characteristics.   Econoler provided the client with instructions and explanations regarding the critical elements involved in the implementation process of an EPC project so as to lay a good communication foundation between the ESCO and CSSS Richelieu-Yamaska.   With a total value of over CAD 6 million, the project is expected to enable CSSS Richelieu-Yamaska to achieve up to CAD 500,000 in annual energy savings. The ESCO guaranteed a payback of 6.5 years (having taken into account the various eligible grants), which was in line with the management framework of CSSS Richelieu-Yamaska.