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“Without this data, municipalities can make costly mistakes.”
Municipal managers constantly juggle competing priorities and expenses—so anything that can reduce operating budget costs on a lasting basis catches their attention. In today’s era of skyrocketing energy prices, it pays to first scrutinize municipal energy costs and drivers, and then, take action. The payoff can be surprisingly significant.
Forty-two local governments across the Commonwealth have taken advantage of the state’s Municipal Opportunities for Retrofits for Energy Efficiency (MORE) grant and loan program, securing $1.9 million in funding from the PA Department of Environmental Protection’s Energy Programs Office. Designed to support local governments in cost-effectively deploying energy efficiency and renewable energy projects, MORE grants ultimately stem from federal funding promised through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. They’re intended for municipalities that aren’t eligible for an Energy Efficiency & Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) from the Department of Energy, which means they mostly support smaller towns delivering essential services on tight budgets.
MORE Fast Facts
Municipal Participants: 42
Funding Awarded: $1.9 million in grants up to $50,000 each.
Supported: ASHRAE Level 2 Energy Audits and retrofit plans for municipal properties.
Organizers: Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority under PA Department of Environmental Protection.
Loans: Program offers low-interest loans $5000 or more.
The best place to start for municipalities receiving a MORE grant? Usually, it’s getting a comprehensive assessment from a qualified energy-savvy professional. This evaluation – known as an energy audit – can identify costly issues like outdated, underperforming mechanical and HVAC systems or buildings with a “leaky” shell that lets air-conditioned or heated indoor air escape to the outside. Insufficient insulation in walls and ceilings; gaps around doors, conduit tubes, and cable penetrations; or other small and large unintended “air channels” to the outside can drive up heating and cooling costs. Finding and then fixing those issues results in long-term cost savings from hundreds to thousands a year, depending on facility size and electric utility.
Energy audits vary in scope and intensity, but most municipalities in the MORE program need an ASHRAE level 2 commercial energy audit. These sophisticated assessments are meant to evaluate a diverse set of energy issues in large, complex buildings or groups of buildings. To get an ASHRAE level 2 audit, you need to turn to a professional—and in Allegheny County, you might turn to AUROS Group.
“Without this data,” says Craig Stevenson, AUROS Group President, “municipalities can make costly mistakes.” A building performance management company specializing in using data and building science to identify pathways towards cost savings and better indoor air quality, AUROS has completed energy assessments and Energy Conservation Measures Project Designs for multiple municipalities participating in the MORE program.
Data doesn’t just help audit recipients find leaks—it's also crucial for identifying where and how to spend limited project budgets. Stevenson remembers meeting a new AUROS customer who, prior to contacting him, had installed an R-50 (highly insulated) roof when a less expensive R-20 option would have sufficed. “Rather than beef up the roof, they could have put the rest of that money into windows or wall insulation,” he said. “But when they don't know the number, they just do whatever they think is going to be better."
Municipalities can’t waste money taking a shot in the dark. ASHRAE level 2 audits deliver the professional expertise, rigorous evaluation, sophisticated diagnostic equipment, and utility bill analysis they need, usually resulting in a report of detailed recommendations for energy conservation measures (ECMs).
“We have a lot on our plate. It’s helpful to know that now we have this detailed data for cutting bills in the future.”
The case for energy assessments is clear. Quantifying your facility's current state and identifying which upgrades yield the most savings lets property owners and operators make better decisions.
This is especially critical for municipalities working out of aging buildings. In their final MORE audit report for Arnold, PA, AUROS identified energy-saving opportunities that cumulatively result in a 74% reduction in annual energy usage. Executing the recommended measures, AUROS projected, could save the municipality $92,845 (roughly 20% of its projected energy costs) between 2025 and 2050, or $3,714 annually. The benefits of implementing these measures aren’t just financial—there’s also improving employee comfort and reducing carbon emissions, a pressing need for many PA municipalities with decarbonization policies and initiatives.
For Jennifer Schwartz, Arnold’s newly appointed city manager as of January 2026, the AUROS report provided a roadmap forward for reducing energy costs. “We have a lot on our plate,” she said. “It’s helpful to know that now we have this detailed data for cutting bills in the future.”
Like dozens of municipalities across Pennsylvania, Oakmont Borough participated in the MORE program to better understand and improve the energy performance of its municipal facilities. According to Assistant Borough Manager Phyllis J. Anderson, the Borough sought a comprehensive approach to addressing ongoing building energy efficiency and comfort issues rather than continuing to implement isolated fixes. “Oakmont Borough Administration did not want to make building-related energy-efficient improvements gradually,” Anderson explained during a recent MORE program webinar. “Some offices are too cold in the summer, while others were too warm. The same inconsistencies existed during the winter months. We wanted to ensure that we were taking full advantage of available energy-saving opportunities. The MORE Grant allowed us to conduct a professional energy audit that identified numerous issues within our building and provided a roadmap for addressing systematic solutions for energy efficiency.”
One of the most valuable outcomes of the assessment was the discovery of a previously unknown source of energy waste. Using thermal imaging technology, the energy consultants identified that portions of the Borough building's baseboard heating system were operating during the summer months and effectively competing against the air conditioning system. This condition was creating unnecessary energy consumption, reducing efficiency, and increasing utility costs.
By uncovering this issue, the energy audit provided Oakmont with actionable data and a clear path forward. The Borough is now developing plans to address the problem as part of its broader energy efficiency strategy, helping to reduce operating costs while improving comfort for employees and visitors alike.
Lou Ransom, Manager of Braddock Borough—another MORE grant recipient—said: “We knew, because of the age of our building and the condition of our building, that we were going to need upgrades in several places… We were looking for something that basically advised us on how to make our building not only more efficient, but more modern and updated.”
MORE grants give municipalities detailed data on measures that will make a difference. So how can they start thinking about and implementing them?
“The Borough intends to do smaller projects the Building Superintendent can manage, before we move onto larger projects,” Anderson shared about Oakmont. “There’s a lot of little things we can do, like make our thermostats compatible, putting timers on our boiler, so when people are not occupying the building, the boiler can automatically lower the temperature, and making sure that timers are put on lights too.” The MORE-funded assessment was helpful in guiding Oakmont’s financial planning for the next few years, helping them get the data they need for larger, more complex projects. “We do have a step-by-step way to address the issues that were of concern in the energy audit, but we’re going to start small and end up with some of the larger projects just for capital planning purposes.”
Starting small can be a good way to begin reducing your energy load, and Beth Eckenrode, co-founder of AUROS Group, noted that for some projects it’s a good first step in a carefully constructed sequence. “There’s a benefit to planning in the right order,” she told us. “The number of solar panels you’ll need to offset your use is going to be much less and much smaller if you can get those things done in the proper sequence.” That’s why it’s so essential for energy auditors and design firms to share an optimal order of Energy Conservation Measures and provide modeling data and tools so municipalities can wield updated energy use projections moving forward.
Municipalities know that savings are on the table. But getting the budget to actually seize them is challenging. For many municipalities, a MORE audit provides an opportunity to begin with practical, low-cost improvements that generate immediate savings while laying the groundwork for larger capital projects in the future.
“There were numerous recommendations identified through the audit that we could potentially implement in the near term,” said Anderson about Oakmont. “By utilizing Borough staff to complete some of the improvements, we can achieve meaningful cost savings and reduce the financial burden associated with larger-scale projects. Taking these incremental steps allows us to build momentum, improve efficiency, and better position ourselves for future investments.”
For other municipalities, a MORE audit mostly casts additional light on the scope of the work ahead. “In order for us to get the work done that we need, we would need almost a complete renovation budget, and the audit didn't help provide for something like that,” Ransom said about Braddock’s report. Piecemeal measures would be “like putting lipstick on a pig” for some of his buildings, which need more comprehensive repairs.
With energy prices rising rapidly, the calculations on energy conservation measures requiring larger capital investments could shift as pay-off times shorten. Still, it’s clear that while ASHRAE level 2 audits provide crucial data, they’re no silver bullet. Municipalities need funding, not just data, to make these projects happen. And funding isn’t an easy problem to solve. Pennsylvania’s small towns and boroughs face growing infrastructure costs and shrinking federal support, and municipal debt has grown to $3.4 trillion nationwide.
“This building is an asset. You just need to extract the value out of the asset."
The limitations of audits alone are clear—but many recipients find them invaluable for seeing their buildings’ potential, not just their problems. “You need a plan to get to where you want to go,” says Stevenson. He described going over an AUROS report with a major audit client: "When I told them they had $90 million in value sitting in their building, they reclassified that building from a stranded asset to an asset.” For municipalities, he continued, “This building is an asset. You just need to extract the value out of the asset."
Phyllis J. Anderson sees potential in other Oakmont buildings, too: “After the energy efficiency audit, we need to have a plan in place to get these projects implemented. And without a plan, and it would be difficult to ask Borough Council for solar panels when there is no data to back up the request. So having not only the data, but also the plan on how to actually implement improvements suggested in the audit, and enrolling them into the MORE grant program, are a very valuable resources for the Borough.”
