The Opportunity

Prior to partnering with 5, the Irving Convention Center (ICC) had procured energy by issuing RFPs directly to suppliers. While this process met their basic needs, the ICC lacked the time and tools to track and analyze market conditions or conduct usage analyses that would allow the facility to capitalize on periodic market fluctuations. As a result, the ICC had little opportunity to reduce baseline energy costs or pursue operational efficiencies. Additionally, the ICC had initiated a new lighting project but lacked the funding to complete it.

Jerry Stewart is an Energy Advisor at 5 and was one of the first employees to join the team.Jerry began his career in the energy business after spending the first part of his professional life as a real estate appraiser. During that time, he discovered his passion for serving others through his work as a Christian missionary where he spent 4 years in Honduras working with orphans. His energy career began at First Choice Power where he helped commercial customers with electricity procurement. A year later, Jerry joined 5 and brought his passion to serve others with him. Today, Jerry helps over 250 clients across the country with their energy-related needs, 80 of which are non-profits organizations.

The City of Mansfield looked to 5 to help identify better ways of purchasing electricity and operating their facilities. This included moving away from a municipal aggregation and into a favorable supply contract that will save the city approximately $9 million in electricity expenses. 5 also worked with the city to improve the operations of its water treatment plant. Adjustments to the operating profile of the main water pumps and training provided to the staff reduced demand charges by over $100,000. 5’s energy expertise enabled the City of Mansfield to significantly lower their operating expenses and improve the efficiency of the water utility that serves the city.

Shashi Thoutireddy is 5’s VP of Finance. Shashi was born and raised in India and earned his bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering at the National Institute of Technology. He is an avid field hockey fan (India’s national sport) and played on a variety of teams while he was growing up. Shashi moved to Dallas in 2006 and earned a Master’s degree in Finance from Southern Methodist University in 2008.

Houghton College had a number of exciting energy projects on campus prior to engaging the team at 5. These projects were driven by their commitment to sustainability and featured a campus-wide LED lighting retrofit project, a 2.6 MW solar array and other initiatives to reduce their carbon footprint. 5 was able to partner with Houghton College’s sustainability and finance teams to put all of the pieces together into a comprehensive strategy for energy procurement and demand-side management.

Irving, TX - May 7, 2019

Controlling one of the largest line-item costs in operating budgets – energy – is now within reach for San Angelo Independent School District as a result of a partnership with energy advisory firm, 5.