top of page

Benchmark NH

You can’t manage what you don’t measure! Track your town’s energy usage with Portfolio Manager, compare buildings in your town, and learn how to reduce your costs.

WHY BENCHMARK?

“The slogan could be: Put it in writing and you will save! We reported the town energy usage in our annual report and now everyone has ideas to reduce town energy costs.” 
– Theresa Swanick, Effingham Energy Committee

"The Town of Plainfield, NH has benefitted from the use of Portfolio Manager to benchmark where we stood as compared to other municipalities as well as measuring our own progress as we moved the performance of our school from the 30th percentile to the 96th over a multi-year period. It also helps us monitor performance going forward to make sure we continue to maintain our progress. The Energy Committee for the town is having a similar experience as we work on the municipal buildings.  If you don’t measure it, you can’t control it."  
​-Allan, Plainfield NH

HOW TO BENCHMARK

1. Obtain digitized energy use data from your utility

Tracking energy involves obtaining usage data from electric and heating fuel providers. A few years (or at least one year) of historical usage data can help provide a good baseline of usage.  Heating fuel data can be obtained from each respective fuel provider.


2. Upload excel data into Portfolio Manager

EPA’s FREE Portfolio Manager tracking tool will upload data from excel spreadsheets and provide reports on energy use for each building entered.  Free tutorial or in person assistance is available for getting up to speed using Portfolio Manager.​

  • Go to www.ENERGYSTAR.gov and click on the Portfolio Manager link. 

  • Log in with your user name and password.  If you don't have a user name and password, click on the big green "Sign Up" button and set one up.  

  • Follow the easy to use steps to add your properties and enter your energy bill information.


3. Share your data with BenchmarkNH

Share your results with the Local Energy Solutions Work Group through Portfolio Manager's share button so we can assist you in the next steps including audits, technical assistance, and other resources. You can also compare your municipal facilities to similar facilities all across NH. 

  • ​Click on the "Contacts" link at the top right hand side of your Portfolio main page.

  • Click on "Add Contact".

  • Go To 'Find Contact in Portfolio Manager'

  • Click the "Connect" button.

  • You will get a notification that Julia and the LES Work Group has accepted your connection.

  • Go to "Sharing" tab, choose "Share a Property" and choose which buildings you would like to share.

Accessing Digital Municipal Energy Data from Utilities in NH

Compiling historical energy data reveals past usage and costs, showing where improvements could bring savings. At least one year is helpful but 3-5 years compiled gives a broader look-back for analysis. Digital data in excel format can be uploaded into EPA’s FREE Portfolio Manager tracking & reporting tool. Usage data is available from each electric utility in NH but they each have a different method for obtaining the data. Below are the steps to take to access data from each electricity provider in NH. Heating fuel usage data from your supplier(s) can also be tracked and reported. 

Liberty Customers ​

  • After database conversion, customers with online accounts can access new data online. 

  • For more information go to: LibertyUtilities.com 


NH Electric Cooperative Customers 

  • Historical usage data can be requested of an Account Executive (if unsure of contact, call Member Solutions 800-698-2007). 

  • Authorized municipal personnel can receive excel export of usage data history. 

  • For contact information, go to: NHEC.com 


Unitil Customers 

  • Go to: Unitil.com

  • Set up an online account.

  • Click “Manage My Account” on left. 

  • Click “Electric Usage” on the left. 

  • Copy & Paste into excel. 


Eversource (formerly PSNH) Customers 

  • Go to: Eversource.com

  • Set up an online account.

  • Go to “save energy & money”. 

  • Click Green Button.

  • Click the “log in now” link.

  • Click “Manage Account”.

  • Click List of Accounts, or

  • “Add Account” to add acct #/name. 

  • Click “Usage History” in left menu. 

  • Select each account one at a time. 

  • Select the time frame for export. 

  • elect Green Button export. 

  • Downloads data in excel format.

Energy Technical Assistance and Planning for New Hampshire Communities! - Assistance from the NH Municipal Association. 

Data
bottom of page