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Stellar quarter for Navy's fuel savings

  • Published
  • Naval Sea Systems Command Public Affairs
WASHINGTON --  Naval Sea Systems Command's Incentivized Energy Conservation (i-ENCON) initiative announced March 18 that Navy ships realized 354,000 barrels of fuel avoidance during the first quarter fiscal year 2010.

The savings represent an increase of 4.9 percent from the previous quarter.

"These efforts increase fleet readiness by enabling Sailors at sea to train or deploy longer while spending the same amount of money on fuel," said Hasan Pehlivan, i-ENCON program manager.

These savings also increase fleet readiness by providing enough fuel to support six Arleigh Burke-class destroyers (at an average of 2,500 underway hours) per year.

The i-ENCON program is a 'Meet-the-Fleet' initiative spearheaded by NAVSEA to reduce ships' energy consumption. Program sponsors conduct routine meetings with ship operators to review specific fuel-saving procedures and recommend quarterly awards for ships with the most fuel-efficient operations.

One of the ways NAVSEA's i-ENCON measures fuel usage and cost avoidance is through underburn, the reported fuel rate for the quarter that is below the ship class' average burn rate. For the first quarter of fiscal year 2010, 106 ships reported an underburn.

"The cumulative underburn was 16.35 percent of fuel consumption for first quarter fiscal year 2010, which exceeded the i-ENCON goal of eight percent by a wide margin," said Mr. Pehlivan. "This underburn translates into a net fuel cost avoidance, including ships that overburn, of $41 million, based on fuel costing $116.34 barrel."

The performance may be attributable to fuel-conserving ships receiving $2 million in cash awards distributed in the fourth quarter of each fiscal year by Commander, Naval Surface Forces, according to Mr. Pehlivan.

i-ENCON rewards leading fuel conservers among underway surface ships with special recognitions and cash incentives. Award money is routed to each commanding officer's discretionary funds that are often used to buy items like damage control gear or to augment the ship's welfare and recreation programs.

"These incentives are very important to i-ENCON's success," Mr. Pehlivan added. "It's a voluntary program that requires real commitment from ships' commanding officers, chief engineers and main propulsion assistants. I receive calls and emails from ships every day wanting to know how they can participate and improve their fuel performance."

Additionally, to increase fuel conservation awareness, the i-ENCON curriculum has been extended to prospective commanding officers at the Navy's Surface Warfare Officers School in Newport, R.I.

"The i-ENCON curriculum represents an extension of the professional education Surface Warfare Officers School instructors offer to prospective commanding officers in order for them to succeed at their new commands," said Capt. Neil R. Parrott, the school's commanding officer.