How does energy management drive massive utility savings?

Energy costs are rising, budgets are tightening, and facilities teams are expected to do more with less. It’s no wonder energy and finance leaders are skeptical of vendors promising double-digit savings on utility costs. So when we say “when polled, most EnergyCAP customers reported saving 10% or more year over year on their utility bills with EnergyCAP,” the natural question is: How?

10% savings is real, and often just the beginning

The answer lies in our Savings Maturity Model, a proven path that starts with tackling pressing issues, like expensive billing errors and large leaks, and quickly surfacing energy hogs to focus conservation efforts for the largest impact. From there, customers scale up to sustained cost control, emissions reductions, and streamlined financial operations.

How we got to 10%

More than 50 organizations recently participated in the “ROI of EnergyCAP” survey, where 52% of respondents reported achieving 10% or more year-over-year energy savings after adopting EnergyCAP.

But here’s the nuance: those savings don’t come from flipping a switch. They’re unlocked through a partnership between your team and our software working together. While EnergyCAP isn’t responsible for every dollar saved, our platform enables the insights, automation, and accountability that make those savings possible, and measurable.

The EnergyCAP Savings Maturity Model

Stage 1: Utility Bill Management

• What you get: A single source of truth for all utility data.
• Savings impact: 1–3%, often in the first year (or even the first month!)
• How it works: Catch low-hanging billing errors and anomalies, spot clear energy hogs, and benchmark building performance.

Stage 2: Automate data capture

• What you get: Bill CAPture and EnergyCAP services
• Savings impact: +2–5%.
• How it works: Eliminate manual entry and let us help you manage billing issues with financial-grade accuracy.

Stage 3: Usage Monitoring

• What you get: Detailed, granular visibility into your interval data
• Savings impact: +5–10%.
• How it works: Continuously identify usage spikes, optimize energy performance, and validate project ROI.

Stage 4: Financial Integration

• What you get: Chargebacks, advanced accounting, and streamlined bill payments.
• Savings impact: +3–4%.
• How it works: Accurately forecast utility spend, accelerate month-end close, and eliminate late fees.

Stage 5: Compliance and Reporting

• What you get: Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions tracking in the same platform as your energy management
• Savings impact: +1–3%.
• How it works: Align carbon reductions with financial impact and unlock financial, regulatory, and reputational gains.

The bottom line

By combining better data, automation, and cross-team action, customers regularly drive 25%+ in total utility savings.

Why 10% is the baseline, not the ceiling

Many customers achieve 3% savings in the first year just from catching “oopsie” billing errors and surfacing glaring operational issues like water leaks or equipment left running overnight. Complete visibility is a critical part of efficient facility management.

Sustained, double-digit savings happen when: 

• Energy managers gain visibility into consumption trends.
• Finance leaders control budget variance and prevent late fees.
• Sustainability teams measure and validate emissions reductions.
• Facilities teams make informed, impactful changes.
• Everyone shares the same trusted data.

That’s where EnergyCAP comes in. We might not be installing low-flow toilets, but we equip your team with the tools, data, and insights to uncover inefficiencies, validate projects, avoid waste, and make smarter, faster decisions.