Client Success
NCESD Reduces Electricity Use by 38%
Written by
SEM Editorial Team
NCESD reduced reported electricity use by 38 percent and achieved Tier 2 compliance with support from Student Energy Managers.
North Central Education Service District 171, known as NCESD, operates a 28,777-square-foot Tier 2 building. SEM activated there in March 2025. The client record does not describe a failed system or a proposed capital project. It frames the work as a combined energy-management and compliance effort, with students helping the organization turn data into useful facility insight.
For a Tier 2 owner, that work includes more than watching a utility bill. Benchmarking has to be supported by dependable building and meter information, while the energy management and operations and maintenance programs have to reflect how the facility is actually run. SEM provided additional capacity to organize that work and keep performance visible over time.
The reported comparison covers March 2024 through May 2025 as the base period and March 2025 through May 2026 as the current period. Base-year electricity use totaled 998,221 kWh. Current-year use totaled 620,885 kWh. The difference was 377,336 kWh, a 38 percent reduction.
Every month in the table shows lower current use than its base comparison. Monthly reductions range from 23 percent to 53 percent, with the largest percentage in May near the beginning of the current-year series. The later months continue to show meaningful reductions, which provides a more complete picture than highlighting one peak month alone.
The client record states that NCESD achieved Tier 2 compliance and avoided a documented $8,633 noncompliance penalty. That outcome combines completed program work with the organization’s reported energy improvement. The figures are specific to this building and reporting period and are not presented as a forecast for another facility.
Pete Phillips, NCESD Executive Director of Technology Services, said the students brought “professionalism, curiosity, and real-world problem-solving skills” and consistently delivered energy insights that created measurable value for the organization’s facilities and partners.
NCESD is a useful example for both clients and education partners. A smaller covered building receives the structured attention needed for Tier 2, while students practice data review, professional communication, and problem-solving on a live facility. The building’s needs give the learning purpose, and the students’ work gives the owner added capacity.
To begin Tier 2 planning for your building, visit SEM’s Get Started page.