"As prudent landlords, we want to make the most of our energy budget. That means astute procurement, monitoring consumption, and accurate billing."

— Kevin Delorme

Cadillac Fairview reduces operating costs through smart energy management.

Good property management is always a balancing act between keeping operational costs low and tenant satisfaction high. Energy consumption is a huge part of that equation. Add a complex and volatile energy commodity market and it's even more difficult to maintain that equilibrium. And when you're also a pension fund charged with investing to ensure the retirement income of 264,000 people, your risk tolerance is particularly low.

That's why Cadillac Fairview – wholly-owned by the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board and one of North America's largest investors, owners and managers of commercial real estate – wanted to get better control of its energy expenditures and improve its national energy program to withstand constant changes in the energy market across the country.

From Victoria to Moncton, Cadillac Fairview's properties total nearly 38 million square feet of high quality office and retail space. Energy expenditures represent a significant portion of the company's operating costs. Managers of these properties have reduced costs and developed a proactive commodity management program to ensure efficient energy procurement and usage nationwide.

"With our managed energy program, we can now tolerate changes in energy prices, and more efficiently budget across the company and across the country. We're better at anticipating energy costs for our tenants as well, so we can offer them an attractive lease situation," says Kevin Delorme, National Director of Operations for Cadillac Fairview.

Tracking Energy Usage
The company contacted Energy Advantage Inc. for management of invoice processing and energy reporting, independent advice on risk mitigation, and a strategic energy procurement program.

One of the first efforts was to standardize Cadillac Fairview's utility bill payment system and implement a thorough quality assurance process. Cadillac Fairview has an enormous amount of utility data to monitor thanks to its extensive portfolio. By outsourcing the management of their invoices and using third-party verification, they've recouped more than $1.1million in utility billing errors.

Using its proprietary eXceeds system, Energy Advantage applies numerous checks and balances across multiple data points to make sure each invoice is correct. Invoices are scrutinized and validated to ensure the company is paying an accurate amount. Once the automated system verifies key data elements of the invoice, an energy analyst investigates suspect data related to such things as usage patterns, unusual spikes, or unexpected demand drops.

This third-party verification ensures Cadillac Fairview is getting what it pays for and has the information necessary to make intelligent decisions. Once the data enters the eXceeds system, it is leveraged for many purposes, including energy accounting and budgeting, identifying and strategizing for energy commodity procurement opportunities, monitoring and tracking of energy conservation initiatives, building certification initiatives such as BOMA's Go Green program, and energy related capital expenditures.