Webinar takeaways: SEM delivers savings in uncertain times
Energy costs are rising and market conditions keep shifting. Utilities and their commercial and industrial customers need savings that don’t depend on big capital projects or long timelines. That’s why strategic energy management (SEM) is gaining momentum right now.
In our webinar, “SEM: The Smart Path to Savings in Uncertain Times,” our experts shared how SEM helps customers maintain performance, reduce risk, and unlock measurable savings through small, practical operational improvements. Watch the full recording here.
The presenters shared how across nearly every sector they are seeing uncertainty slow or pause capital funding. In this environment, customers want to protect performance without introducing new risk. SEM focuses on practical actions that reduce risk while still delivering measurable improvement.
Improvements don’t have to mean big investments
SEM helps customers identify and implement operational improvements that don’t require large investments. That includes day-to-day actions and behavior changes that build a culture of energy efficiency over time, supported by coaching, workshops, and technical services. Pavel Tumakov summed it up clearly, saying: “SEM focuses on low- and no-cost operational and behavioral strategies – activities that don’t require capital dollars, but still deliver measurable improvement.”
And SEM is designed to stick. Keri Macklin framed SEM as more than a one-time initiative. “SEM is really a continuous cycle of success, a process around changing the culture within organizations to energy efficiency.”
You can re-baseline operations based on current conditions
When occupancy, production or schedules shift, yesterday’s baseline no longer tells the truth about performance.
“SEM helps organizations re-baseline their operations to match current conditions in a way that reflects today’s realities, not last year’s assumptions,” according to Pavel.
SEM can unlock incentives and verified savings sooner
In uncertain markets, speed matters. SEM enables faster-moving incentives and quicker savings verification than many capital-heavy approaches. “SEM enables customers to access fast-moving incentives and verify savings sooner than capital programs typically allow,” Pavel elaborates. That’s one reason SEM can feel like a practical path forward when customers need near-term relief and measurable outcomes.
The proof: record-setting results in 2025
Our webinar highlighted record-setting SEM performance across regions, including 305 million kWh, 10.5 therms, and $13 million in incentives.
The three SEM coaches, Patrick Sippel, Richard Gregg, and Glen D’Silva, also dove into real-world examples across programs and geographies, highlighting these case studies:
- In Southern California Edison territory, the portfolio shared in the webinar totaled 49 million kWh and 1.2 million therms, with 165 participants.
- In Entergy Arkansas programs, SEM delivered a large share of total savings in 2025, including 55% of its large C&I program savings and 24% of its CitySmart savings.
- In British Columbia cohorts, reported savings increased year over year, including 12% electric improvement and 26% natural gas improvement.
When capital is constrained, operational improvement is still available, and SEM helps customers act on it. SEM won’t replace every measure, and it works best as part of a broader strategy. But in uncertain times, it can help utilities strengthen their commercial and industrial portfolio with a repeatable approach to verifiable savings.
Learn more about our SEM programs here: Strategic Energy Management Solutions | CLEAResult