Energy Responsibility Accounting - An Energy Conservation Tool for Industrial Facilities

Abstract

As energy costs continue to rise faster than the rate of inflation, industrial energy management becomes a more important issue in the control of manufacturing costs. Energy Responsibility Accounting (ERA) is a tool which improves management's control of energy through accurate measurement of energy usage and costs by plant burden centers. The concept of responsibility accounting involves the continuous flow of information through, out an organization for the purposes of planning and cost control. In the past, responsibility accounting has been used primarily to control labor costs, to reduce material waste, and to contain the cost of supplies. ERA extends factory responsibility accounting systems to include energy. With ERA, management will know who is making an effort to conserve energy, how a new process affects energy usage, where additional emphasis on conservation may be needed and how much energy is being saved.