Case Study: City of San Bernardino achieves major cost savings and streamlined utility management with EnergyCAP

San Bernardino’s part-time energy manager helps the cash-strapped municipality out of a fiscal crisis

The City of San Bernardino, facing a 2012 fiscal emergency and bankruptcy with a drastically reduced staff, relied on Departmental Accounting Technician Susan Davis to manage an overwhelming utility workload. The city tracks roughly 142 buildings and 3,500 meters and receives about 2,000–3,000 utility bills each month, with a nine‑month backlog of invoices. To stop late fees, gain historical data for grants, and save staff time, the City used EnergyCAP’s energy management software.

Using EnergyCAP, Davis completed a quick training and about 30 hours of implementation help, manually cleared the backlog, and began identifying waste and billing errors—most notably a malfunctioning pump that generated roughly $15,000 bills instead of ~$500. EnergyCAP’s reporting enabled the City to secure a $375,000 lighting retrofit grant and a $248,000 Parks & Recreation funding award, save tens of thousands of dollars in avoided charges, and streamline work by granting view‑only access to consultants; the City now plans additional EnergyCAP modules and an accounting system interface to further reduce staff time.

City of San Bernardino

Susan Davis

Departmental Accounting Technician