2100 Powell Relies on Gridium to Optimize Energy Efficiency

Gridium’s data-driven insights help the building team achieve sustainability goals, reduce costs, and maintain tenant comfort

2100 Powell is a Class A, 16-story office tower located in the heart of Emeryville, California. It offers over 340,000 square feet of high-end office space with sweeping views of San Francisco Bay. The building is recognized for its modern amenities, including an on-site fitness center, and serves as headquarters for a number of leading healthcare and technology companies.

2100 Powell has demonstrated a strong commitment to sustainability by achieving both LEED Gold certification and ENERGY STAR recognition for over 16 years. Its property management firm has consistently pushed the building to improve efficiency, even after implementing many energy-saving measures.

“We take everyone’s comfort very seriously. Our team has to walk the delicate balance between running as efficiently as possible while  providing first rate, highly conditioned space for our tenants.”

Chief Engineer, 2100 Powell

Challenge

Operational Efficiency

The chief engineer at 2100 Powell faced the task of maintaining energy efficiency while delivering optimal comfort across 16 floors of occupied office space. With increasing utility costs, tightening sustainability goals, and the ever-present need to reduce carbon footprints, the challenge was to balance efficient building operations with tenant satisfaction. The property management firm had already implemented standard energy-saving measures, but according to the chief engineer, “once you get past the low-hanging fruit, you have to start figuring out harder-to-find opportunities.” The building team needed a partner to help them achieve deeper efficiency while keeping costs low.

Rate & Supply Optimization

As a PG&E customer, 2100 Powell is no stranger to rising utility rates, which increased by 12% in 2024 alone. The chief and his building team are always looking for ways to mitigate these rate increases, which significantly impact the bottom line.

Budgeting

The Real Estate Manager for 2100 Powell understands the high-stakes headache of crafting an accurate budget forecast.”Budgeting is always a balancing act,” they say. “The hardest part is managing fluctuating costs while justifying long-term investments when capital is tight.” Their team spends hours on budgets each year and were eager to bring in experts to streamline the process.

Approach

Operational Efficiency

The chief engineer and his team partnered with Gridium to help navigate the intricate balance between energy savings and high-performance building operations. Gridium provides regular insights through weekly emails, helping the team monitor energy spikes and baseload performance.

“Gridium’s weekly emails were an eye-opener for me. I could see where the spikes were, where we were meeting base load, where we were running over, and how we could tweak operations without negatively impacting tenant comfort. We started tightening up operations and saving money right away.”

Chief Engineer, 2100 Powell

Rate & Supply Optimization

Gridium’s energy analysts also assisted in identifying opportunities to switch to a more cost-effective utility rate. Having worked with Gridium at a previous building, the chief engineer knew there were savings to be had, but needed support navigating the complex range of options utility rates. Gridium analyzed historical energy performance and available rate options and helped 2100 Powell identify a more optimal option. “I wouldn’t have known we were eligible for that rate. I had done the work to shave down our demand, but Gridium helped me understand that we could save even more by switching rates,” says the chief engineer. “It made me look good, it made our ownership team look good, it made our property management team look good—it was a win-win-win.”

Gridium also recommended that the team at 2100 Powell enter the California Direct Access lottery to trim energy costs further. This program allows businesses to purchase electricity from third-party providers, often at lower rates, rather than being limited to PG&E. 

Budgeting

In addition to energy savings, Gridium has been instrumental in helping the property management team streamline the budget forecasting process. Gridium’s team also helped handle tenant requests and supported the property management team with variance reporting.

“Gridium has been a huge help to us. The automated cost reporting and expert guidance help us report with confidence, knowing that our cost projections are accurate.”

Real Estate Manager, 2100 Powell

Results

2100 Powell’s partnership with Gridium produced notable results. Year-over-year, energy consumption at 2100 Powell went down, while efficiency increased. “I keep track of year-over-year usage, and with Gridium’s help, we’ve seen a consistent downward trend in energy use and an upward trend in efficiency,” according to the chief engineer. And despite tightening operations for efficiency, there was no negative impact on tenant comfort. In fact, feedback from tenants remained positive, even as energy savings were realized.

Thanks to Gridium’s strategic guidance, the 2100 Powell team saved an average of $42k/year by optimizing its utility rate, and an additional $33k/year by sourcing supply through the Direct Access program.

“The correlation between lower usage and lower costs helped soften the blow of recent rate increases. Everyone’s happy with lower costs.”

Chief Engineer, 2100 Powell

With Gridium’s continued support, the chief engineer and his team stay informed about evolving technologies, like decarbonization and electrification projects. “We’re always looking at what’s next—whether it’s thermal storage or municipal electrification. Gridium has been invaluable in putting these emerging trends into context for us.”

The chief engineer sums up the partnership, saying, “Gridium makes our team look good. We’re driving the bus, but they help call out specific directions. The subscription has been worth every penny, and we’ve gained much more than we expected from the partnership.”