In cooperation with the mayors of Houston and Austin, an energy management specialist from the Texas A&M College of Architecture will teach representatives from private companies, government and nonprofit organizations how to save money on energy bills at half-day workshops scheduled April 11 in Austin and April 25 in Houston.
 
The workshops, designed to help organizations cope with the severe energy budgeting and planning difficulties resulting from Texas’ high electricity and natural gas prices, are sponsored by the office of Austin Mayor Will Wynn, the Austin electric utility Austin Energy, and the office of Houston Mayor Bill White.
 
Titled "Cutting Energy Bills in Texas: Developing an Energy Risk Management Strategy," the non-technical workshops are tailored for building owners, managers and others responsible for electric and natural gas budgets in commercial, industrial, governmental and institutional settings.
 
A $95 registration fee per participant covers the workshop, lunch and materials. Complete details and registration information are available on the Texas A&M College of Architecture Office of Continuing Education Web site at http://archone.tamu.edu/conted/. Related workshop information can be found at http://cuttingenergybills.com.
 
“The enthusiastic response to our first energy management workshop held last March in College Station generated requests to repeat the workshop in other Texas cities,” said workshop developer Jerry Jackson, a Texas A&M construction science professor with more than 30 years experience in the energy industry. “The support of Mayor Wynn, Austin Energy, and Mayor White have been instrumental in providing this educational opportunity to a wide audience at convenient venues.”
 
Jackson will show workshop participants how to evaluate financial risks associated with energy efficiency and pricing choices by utilizing a risk management process called “Energy Budgets at Risk,” trademarked as EBaR.
 
The process, Jackson said, “provides an evaluation of current energy price risks for each organization and quantifies potential risks and energy cost savings of individual efficiency and pricing options. The EBaR results are then matched to each organization’s budget flexibility and risk tolerance to develop an energy risk management strategy minimizing energy costs and protecting against energy price volatility."
 
The workshops, he said, will provide easy-to-understand descriptions of risk management principles using quantitative examples and case studies that illustrate the EBaR process.
 
“Building owners, managers and others responsible for electric and natural gas budgets in commercial, industrial, government and institutional buildings will gain sufficient knowledge to immediately begin developing energy risk management strategies,” said Jackson. “The content,” he added, “is also appropriate for executives who want to gain an understanding of energy risk management principles.”
 
Jackson, who holds a Ph.D. in economics, has worked on a variety of energy-related issues with federal, state and local government agencies, as well as 90 companies, including 20 Fortune 500 companies.