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RESOLUTION TO REDUCE MIAMI-DADE COUNTY GOVERNMENT�S ELECTRICAL ENERGY CONSUMPTION

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WHEREAS, the cost of fuel for electricity generation has increased dramatically within the past year and the US Energy Information Administration has forecast that the price of oil and natural gas, the source of most of the fuel for electricity generation for Miami-Dade County government, will remain high for the foreseeable future; and
WHEREAS, Florida Power & Light Company, the primary electric utility in Miami Dade County, has received approval from the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) to increase fuel charges by 8% starting in August 2008, and in 2009 will request an increase in base rate charges to compensate for rising costs; and
WHEREAS, Florida Power & Light Company has also received approval from the PSC to begin collecting additional funds from customers for the initial cost of planning additional nuclear power facilities at the Turkey Point complex; and
WHEREAS, this rise in energy costs will directly affect the operating budget of Miami Dade County government, which used 1.17 million megawatt-hours of electricity in 2007 alone; and
WHEREAS, it is imperative that the County aggressively pursue energy conservation options wherever and whenever possible to contain electricity costs and to protect the environment through reduced emissions of pollution,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, that:
Section 1. The Mayor is hereby directed to develop a plan to reduce electricity consumption in County governmental operations by 20% from 2007 County usage consumption levels not later than 2014 (234,000 mwh).
Section 2. The Mayor is hereby directed to investigate all opportunities to reduce electric energy consumption in County operations and conduct electric energy audits for all County departments to identify both short and long-term opportunities for electric energy savings including, but not limited to:
a. Mandating that building energy use and carbon emissions be measured, tracked, managed and benchmarked, annually at a minimum, through the use of EPA�s Energy Star Portfolio Manager along with other applicable building energy use tracking and management tools that the Mayor or his designee deem necessary for effective facilities-based energy management;
b. Commissioning (a process designed to achieve, verify, and document improved energy efficiency, environmental health, indoor air quality) for existing energy consuming County buildings and facilities to maximize energy performance;
c. Establishing a mandate for the County to procure products qualified by the Energy Star program on date of purchase for all purchases for which the Energy Star program has established standards;
d. Deploying renewable energy generation where feasible and accelerating landfill gas energy projects;
e. Establishing policies for reducing electric energy demand in County computers by requiring that electric energy-saving features be activated on all desktop computer systems (excluding systems required for emergency safety systems) and in a fashion that does not allow employees to disable such features, and that the County utilize software upgrade tools recommended by the Energy Star program;
f. Evaluating the electric energy consumption of the County server farms and setting a goal for reducing electric power consumption by the County�s technology infrastructure;
g. Training qualified County building and plant maintenance staff to perform small scale energy efficiency retrofits;
h. Developing an energy efficiency educational campaign for County employees to complement investments in electric energy efficient equipment and other energy conservation investments.
Section 3. The Mayor shall prepare and submit the electricity consumption reduction plan described in Section 1 hereinabove to the Board of County Commissioners within ninety (90) days of the date of passage and adoption of this Resolution.