‘All of a sudden, poof!’: Complaints up, savings down as fallout from school district’s $50 million energy contract continues

CONCORD — New details shed light on the dismal results of a nearly $50 million energy-savings project aimed at lowering utility bills and improving classroom climates within the Mt. Diablo Unified School District.

MDUSD is currently consuming more electricity, experiencing a surge of maintenance requests based on teacher complaints, and seeing only a fraction of the cost savings promised by Schneider Electric — the contractor who spearheaded the design and installation of new ceiling tiles, light fixtures, HVAC equipment and thermostat controls districtwide.

But the Texas-multinational company rejected accusations of fraud, overcharging and false claims — claiming their modernization work is not at fault for any underwhelming meter metrics.

In September, MDUSD consumed roughly 15 million kilowatt hours (kWH) of electricity — an 80%-100% spike compared to rates in July 2019 — before Schneider was brought in, according to the company’s own data.

Schneider Electric’s Measure J-funded project previously promised that MDUSD’s cumulative savings would hit $1.8 million, 80% of their annual utility expenditures, one year after the first phase of the project was complete.

The district, however, has only seen an initial 7% in energy savings, according to Schneider’s own numbers presented to the Citizen’s Bond Oversight Committee, the volunteer body appointed to hold the district accountable for responsible spending of Measure J, the $150 million bond that voters approved in 2018 for campus infrastructure improvements and energy system efficiency upgrades.

During the CBOC’s Nov. 14 meeting, Schneider’s reps claimed the real issue behind MDUSD’s increased electricity consumption is that the district’s existing solar PV systems are degrading. They reported last week that 38% of the district’s solar production was offline — an issue district staff confirmed was linked to the contractor, SunPower, declaring bankruptcy and cutting hundreds of jobs earlier this year.

“At the meter, those savings (generated by Schneider’s Measure J project) are effectively being offset,” said Brandon Bedford, Schneider’s director of operations.

Schneider Electric also denied any allegations that they walked away with excessive profits, reneged on local labor agreements or manipulated utility data to back up claims that the multi-million dollar project will ultimately pay for itself through the energy savings it generates by 2024 — despite not providing MDUSD any guarantee or the ability to independently verify their claims.

Superintendent Adam Clark confirmed that MDUSD opted out of Schneider’s “very costly” measurement and verification services, saying in a Nov. 12 memo that the district put that money toward additional HVAC units.

Elliott Feldman, a Schneider Electric program manager, reminded the CBOC that a savings guarantee is solely at the customer’s discretion — not required by California law. He said MDUSD’s decisions about the contract were consistent with other school districts they’ve worked with in the past.

In lieu of direct measurement and verification services of overall district energy usage, Schneider Electric said they calculate the project’s energy savings based on metrics such as wattage, lifetime efficiency and daily demand of new equipment installed at MDUSD — essentially comparing each individual LED lightbulb, HVAC unit and control panel to the technology it replaced.

There’s one looming catch to Schneider’s Energy Management System (EMS), which helps the district track utility bills and advise other energy policies: MDUSD’s contract only includes two years of access. The district must pay an annual $175,000 subscription to continue this consultation work.

Dave Johnsen, who facilitates labor and public contract code compliance involving public projects for a regional nonprofit, asked last week for a detailed breakdown of the savings attributed to the EMS’ consultation. Without independent verification tools or Schneider’s conservation monitoring controls, he’s concerned that the projected 20-year savings will dip dramatically if MDUSD opts not to pay the subscription fee.

Schneider’s reps said they did not have any data available to review last week.

And the company failed to answer several other questions from Johnsen and the CBOC about their controversial $50 million project last week.

Johnsen questioned how Schneider will save the district money over 20 years, a timeline that extends beyond the California Energy Commission’s guidelines for the life of the equipment itself.

He also criticized Schneider for allocating $13 million, nearly a third of Schneider’s total projected savings, to “operations and maintenance costs” like staff reductions. Quoting an excerpt from Schneider’s initial project proposal, Johnsen said that “while this boost in efficiency results in some sort of savings to the district, these operational savings, in many cases, are not quantifiable or verifiable.”

District staff said none of their four maintenance electrician positions have been cut, but they’re hoping to resolve Schneider’s issues and open up availability for those staffers to fix other issues. That current backlog includes requests for service from teachers complaining that the newly automated thermostats Schneider installed are causing temperature havoc in classrooms.

Linda Ortega, president of the Mt. Diablo Education Association and teachers union, said more than 70 teacher complaints have been filed in the past year, when there are rarely any at all, regarding newly installed equipment funded by Measure J.

“All of a sudden, poof! They were coming out the woodwork,” Ortega said. “The district trusts our teachers to take care of our children, but why can’t they trust us to manage a thermostat?”