4 Tools governments can use to beat rising energy costs

Tapping into technology can help cities to better serve their communities, even when expenses are high

Whether you manage facilities and parks for a small municipality or public utilities for a major city, chances are you’re feeling the sting of rising energy prices. When costs go up, budgets across the board get crunched and leaders are forced to do more with less, find opportunities to save additional funds and still manage to keep all the lights on — a daunting task if you work in government.

Whatever the size, state or country your local government falls into, having the right tools can make everything easier, helping you save money to better serve your community and manage the assets under your purview.

Technology — designed with governmental operations in mind — can optimize the workflows, resources and other assets across your municipality, which is extra-critical at a time when energy costs are literally, through the roof. 

Get a handle on energy use with centralized data 

With energy costs trending high, one of the most logical places for governments to start is with an effective energy management solution. The right tools can help facility and energy managers to spot where utility waste might be happening, prioritize maintenance or repairs and make smarter operational decisions via a centralized platform for utilities.

By automating certain processes and centralizing data, governmental leaders can improve operational efficiency, make better decisions and ultimately, operate smarter.

Effectively manage assets across multiple properties

When you look at all the facilities, vehicles and systems that touch a given government, it can be easy to guess why managing maintenance and operations is well, not easy.

An asset management tool can help governments to better monitor and manage equipment and maintenance across multiple facilities and properties and easily track work orders. With the right tech, your operations managers can make better decisions around proactive and preventative maintenance, scheduling, and even optimizing resourcing and communication.

Additionally, an asset management solution can help identify where energy consumption might be high, a necessary capability with costs only poised to rise.

Use technology-boosted planning to unlock better investment decisions

Working in government means every dollar spent is scrutinized. Leaders must ensure that the plans they create will help systems remain operational so their communities thrive. A capital planning solution can use data to offer full asset lifecycle prediction modeling to make better investment decisions — and help explain the reasoning behind the spending.

When costs are high, especially expenses like energy, it’s important to ensure that funding is directed to the most important projects.

If you work in government, you’ve likely encountered necessary updates that may not jive with popular opinion. A strategic asset management solution that helps demonstrate the impact of decision-making across various criteria and asset types can help justify funding requirements by relying on the data behind the reasoning.

Promote citizen confidence outside of energy-related concerns

Even with energy cost concerns top of mind, governments still need to keep citizens happy. If you are in the “doing more with less” camp, now is the perfect time to leverage tools that streamline tedious processes like permitting or business licensing to free up resources. Chances are, a more efficient experience will be appreciated by workers and the community alike.

Cloud-based licensing and permitting solutions can give governments back valuable time while helping them to drive revenue growth (which, as energy costs trend upwards, can be extra beneficial to the bottom line).

Give your community a Brightly(er) experience

Just about everyone feels the rising costs of energy — and if we look at history, they will only continue to rise. Now is an opportune time for governments to shift how they manage the facilities and systems within their domains. By integrating intelligent technologies and centralizing the data that’s already there, it’s possible to foster more efficient processes to serve your communities better.

Brightly is committed to working with governments every step of the way to help improve and manage the operational aspects that support your community. Our innovative solutions use real data and insights to give leaders the power to make thoughtful and sustainable decisions for the citizens they have committed to look out for.

Ready to learn how we can help you optimize your government operations? Talk to an expert to see how our solutions can support your efforts.