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Performance audit of Harborview energy conversion phases I and II
Phase I dated July 9, 2013 and Phase II dated July 22, 2014
Phase I: The report assesses the cost and greenhouse gas impacts of converting the source of heat and hot water for the King County Courthouse and King County Correctional Facility from steam purchased from Seattle Steam Company to natural gas boilers. We found that the county has achieved significant savings of both costs and greenhouse gas emissions as a result of the conversion. Presented July 9, 2013.
Phase II: The proposed redevelopment of Harborview Hall provides King County the opportunity assess energy options that would provide on-site redundancy while decreasing both costs and greenhouse gas emissions. Our analysis found that while the option to provide an on-site central utility plant meets these three objectives, Seattle Steam’s recent rate proposal presents challenges. Presented July 22, 2014.
The Auditor has followed up on the report to evaluate implementation of our recommendations. See the most updated information below.
Download the report
(includes both phases I & II)
Of the 3 recommendations:
| DONE | 1 | Recommendation has been fully implemented. Auditor will no longer monitor. |
|---|---|---|
| PROGRESS | 1 | Recommendation is in progress or partially implemented. Auditor will continue to monitor. |
| OPEN | 0 | Recommendations remain unresolved. Auditor will continue to monitor. |
| CLOSED | 1 | Recommendation is no longer applicable. Auditor will no longer monitor. |
Summary
The purpose of Phase I of the audit is to assess the impact of the courthouse and jail energy conversion projects on costs and greenhouse gas. This information will inform future decisions about future potential energy conversions at Harborview Medical Center. Phase II of the audit will review proposals for energy conversion at Harborview.
The audit found that the County has achieved significant savings of both costs and greenhouse gas emissions as a result of converting the source of energy for heating and hot water at the county courthouse and jail from steam provided by Seattle Steam Company to county owned and operated natural gas boilers. However, some implementation issues have resulted in the natural gas boilers not operating at full efficiency.
We recommend that the Facilities Management Division apply lessons learned from the implementation issues to potential future energy conversion projects.
Reports related to this audit
Click on the image(s) below to view related reports.
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February 10, 2011 |
Audit team
Larry Brubaker, Ben Thompson, and Bob Thomas conducted this audit. If you have any questions or would like more information, please call the King County Auditor's Office at 206-477-1033 or contact us by email KCAO@kingcounty.gov.