Energy management challenges in the water/wastewater industry

The municipal water and wastewater industry is facing enormous changes never before encountered in its long and stable history. Facing a huge backlog of aging infrastructure improvements, new, more stringent environmental requirements, increasing competitiveness from privatization, and recent security concerns, utilities are increasingly exposed to the risks inherent in a deregulated electricity market. This paper addresses the unique ways utilities are coping with the challenge, and management of the second largest direct cost of their organization. Specifically, it outlines the energy management approach of the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC), the nation's seventh largest water/wastewater utility, and WSSC's specific objectives.