Ecova Takes Energy Savings to the Bank with National Bank of Arizona

Energy Management Solution Helps Financial Institution Plan and Invest in Energy Strategy

SPOKANE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ecova, a total energy and sustainability management company, today announced that National Bank of Arizona – a premier bank in Arizona with more than 70 branches – has successfully implemented a complete energy management program. National Bank of Arizona (NB|AZ) can now accurately and efficiently track energy consumption and cost data monthly and leverage that data to develop a comprehensive and proactive energy management strategy.

“Energy management has become more complex, and with that complexity comes opportunity. My ability to control rates might be limited, but I have unlimited opportunity to forecast, budget, and manage consumption thanks to the data that Ecova empowers us with”

For years, NB|AZ tracked utility expenses as a single expense for each site, making it difficult to identify anomalies and track specific expenditures month-to-month or year-over-year to streamline budget forecasting and identify savings opportunities. NB|AZ recognized that it needed a way to access its data to understand its energy use in order to drive strategic energy savings and performance improvement.

NB|AZ engaged Ecova and implemented its Utility Expense and Data Management solution. This solution gathers usage and expenditure data from across the bank’s entire portfolio, turning that data into specific, strategic insight to help the bank increase operational efficiency, reduce costs, and set sustainability performance standards.

“National Bank of Arizona faced a challenge that many companies are facing today – how can we improve our energy costs and increase our sustainability efforts? The simple answer is that you can’t improve what you don’t measure,” said Seth Nesbitt, VP and Chief Marketing Officer, Ecova. “Implementing a system to aggregate all energy consumption and expense information is the first step toward making a real impact on a company’s bottom line and sustainability efforts.”

Ecova started by gathering the prior years’ utility invoices for each location to create a baseline from which it could begin measuring performance. Ecova’s simple-to-navigate reporting interface allows the NB|AZ team to compare year-over-year data, providing visibility into consumption trends down to the specific meter level.

“Energy management has become more complex, and with that complexity comes opportunity. My ability to control rates might be limited, but I have unlimited opportunity to forecast, budget, and manage consumption thanks to the data that Ecova empowers us with,” said Dennis Calik, National Bank of Arizona, SVP and Corporate Properties Manager.

Ecova’s Utility Expense and Data Management solution has enabled NB|AZ to make wise energy savings and sustainability decisions. For example, when the bank was approached with an opportunity to install solar power panels at its corporate headquarters, analysis enabled by Ecova was a key to making the right decision. NB|AZ says that with Ecova’s help, the team was able to identify how much energy the $1.5 million solar initiative would produce and determine how much of the cost would be covered by government rebate funding and tax credits.

“We were able to demonstrate to senior management that the majority of the cost would be mitigated by credits, tax breaks, and rebates,” says Calik. “Ecova’s data provided business intelligence to secure approval by demonstrating that the end-of-the-day price tag for the project would quickly pay for itself.”

Additional solar energy projects, lighting retrofits and upgrades to HVAC systems followed quickly. Calik and team credit the Ecova reporting platform with providing the data to support these decisions, laying the foundation for what will become a comprehensive sustainability initiative.

About Ecova

Ecova is the total energy and sustainability management company whose sole purpose is to see more, save more, and sustain more for its clients. Using insights based on consumption, cost and carbon footprint data spanning thousands of utilities, hundreds of thousands of business sites and millions of households, Ecova provides fully managed, technology-optimized solutions for saving resources, which in turn increase returns, lower risks, and enhance reputations. Ecova is the largest non-regulated subsidiary of Avista Corp (NYSE: AVA and avistacorp.com). For more information, visit the company’s website at ecova.com, on LinkedIn at linkd.in/ecovainc, or follow Ecova on Twitter at @ecovainc.

About National Bank of Arizona

Founded in Tucson, Arizona in 1984, National Bank of Arizona, Member FDIC, is a full-service community bank offering business and personal financial solutions for every aspect of your life. As a premier bank in Arizona, NB|AZ has over $4.5 billion in assets and is backed by the strength of Zions Bancorporation, one of the top 25 holding companies in the U.S. with assets of $55 billion. With over 70 branches in more than 50 communities throughout Arizona, NB|AZ has the resources you need, delivered with the local responsiveness and personalized service you want. For more information, visit www.nbarizona.com.