Some North American utility companies are so committed to Green IT that they are paying businesses to reduce energy waste, while the majority of utility companies are lagging and have no such incentives in place, according to a research note by Info-Tech Research Group. Companies with leading programs include Avista, Pacific Gas and Electric, and Alliant. Free analyst podcast with related Green IT research.

“Preliminary research indicates that only five per cent or less of utility companies have put in place monetary incentives to motivate IT departments to be more energy efficient,” said Aaron Hay, research consultant with Info-Tech Research Group. “Unfortunately, the majority of utility companies offer no such incentives or offer only general provisions for projects such as building retrofits and heating/cooling system upgrades which may not apply to IT.”

Some leading programs have been implemented by utility companies including:

Avista, a northwestern U.S. energy provider, offers energy efficiency rebates geared specifically to enterprise IT with a $10-per-PC credit for power management software purchases (roughly a $7-$20-per-PC cost);

Pacific Gas & Energy Company’s Virtualization & Server Consolidation Projects Initiative is a cutting-edge program that provides businesses with a credit of 8 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for the energy saved due to virtualization;

Alliant offers its Minnesota and Wisconsin business customers a shared savings program, providing the initial capital needed for an energy-efficiency project, which the business repays via savings accrued on its power bill over a number of years.

“Any improvement that can be encouraged by utility companies using coupons or rebates to reward IT departments will ultimately reduce operating costs for enterprises. The current energy costs for a typical data center are enormous, equivalent over three or four years of operation to the initial capital outlay for the equipment itself,” said Hay.

IT departments interested in taking advantage of utility incentive programs should investigate availability from their provider in advance of projects. Even if utilities’ general energy-efficiency incentive programs can apply to IT, it is often not apparent from their descriptions.

“Forgetting to focus on IT departments is particularly troubling because most incentives must be approved before a project is started, so if IT only discovers a rebate after they've finished a product, they won't qualify,” said Hay.

Info-Tech applauds utilities which are actively supporting energy reduction, and advises enterprise IT departments to consider taking advantage of such programs as part of their best practices in managing projects and life-cycle upgrades in their data centers.

Related research podcast

Info-Tech Research Group's 6+ minute podcast, "Going 'Green' - Hear Why and How It's Important for Your Enterprise," explores the awareness of green issues and the adoption of green technologies within the IT environment.

» Story on Analyst Firm Website

» Comments   Digg this    del.icio.us