by Shane Henson — September 9, 2011—Utility rates and energy sources from cities all across the United States are now available in one place—the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Open Energy Information platform, or OpenEI.org.
Developed by the DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the free site allows facilities managers and other energy planners in facilities of all sizes to find utility sources and rates in their own area to help with strategic planning and sourcing of renewable energy in order to reduce costs and work towards environmental certification, and to compare rates in numerous cities for benchmarking purposes.
According to the DOE, the site blends elements of social media and Wiki-based technology with robust and previously unavailable information on energy sources and prices. The site uses the power of crowd-sourcing to make energy information ever more robust and more accessible.
In addition, maps and other visualization tools transform raw data into displays that are easily understood. The new information allows anyone with Internet access to compare kilowatt-hour rates in dozens of cities and to zero in on such variables as time-of-use rates, demand charges, and tiered rate structures.
