How Prometheus Real Estate and TGM Communities Control Energy Spending

It never hurts to ask. Just ask Mary Nitschke. Prometheus Real Estate’s director of ancillary services picked up the phone one day and called a rebate program administrator to explain an energy upgrade on a renovation for a 766-unit property in Prometheus’ portfolio. “Is there anything you can do for me?” Nitschke asked the person on the other end. A few weeks later, Nitschke learned that the upgrades Prometheus had selected qualified for a rebate, a little more than $750 per unit plus additional rebates for the exterior lighting. All she had to do was fill out some paperwork. “I achieved well over $800,000 in rebates without changing scope of renovation,” Nitschke told attendees at the Dallas Crittenden Multifamily Conference in March. “It was a matter of signing a form and waiting for a check. We got the money.” Free money. Two-prong approach to lower utility costs through energy management It’s just one example of how multifamily operations experts are paying more attention to their energy consumption. Industry leaders are working with gas, water and electricity companies along with energy partners to lower the third-largest expenditure in multifamily property operations. Nitschke and TGM Communities Managing Principal & Director of Operations Zachary Goldman have made significant strides for their companies in lowering operational spend through energy management. Their approaches are two-prong − work with a third-party energy management provider to manage the monthly utility expenses, benchmarking utility data and shop industry programs to reduce spending. Contrary to popular belief, utility expenses are very controllable, Goldman says. He and Nitschke believe it starts with analyzing utility expenses and looking for inconsistencies and abnormalities that might indicate incorrect billing or that a property severely needs a utility upgrade. Goldman says the upgrades don’t have to be e...