The New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) Commissioner Louis A. Molina announced a new expansion of the city’s Demand Response program, further reducing the energy consumption, cutting carbon emissions, and safeguarding the local electric grid during the hottest summer months. As part of the program’s latest expansion, 627 city facilities across 36 agencies and organizations will participate with a load reduction commitment of 122 megawatts and a 13 percent increase in participation over the last two years.
DCAS will also install more than 1,150 real-time meters (RTM) in city buildings to monitor energy consumption like electric, gas and steam. Data collected by the RTMs will aid in efforts to reduce energy consumption and emissions from government operations.
By tracking the data, DCAS tailors its approach to usage and ensures that buildings are using energy efficiently. The devices also help inform the City’s building retrofitting projects and capital upgrades.
Demand Response is one facet of the city’s larger decarbonization efforts. In June 2024, DCAS provided a comprehensive overview of the city’s progress and strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and enhancing energy efficiency in public buildings. As highlighted in the Powering Change report, over the past decade, through targeted investments and efficiency measures made, municipal buildings have seen an 8 percent reduction in energy consumption. Further, due to the collaboration between DCAS and sister agencies, city government has reduced its GHG emissions from its overall operations, including emissions from buildings, fleet, wastewater treatment and solid waste by over 25 percent.
