Conservation Programs Set a Record for the Fourth Year in a Row
Austin Energy conservation programs set a record for the fourth year in a row by offsetting 64 megawatts (MW) of demand for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2007. The previous year mark was 57 MW with a cumulative total of more than 200 MW of demand offset over the past four years alone.
More than 30,000 Austin Energy residential customers and 3,000 businesses participated in the programs last year. The energy efficiency improvements made by those customers will reduce their day-to-day annual energy use by an estimated 94 million kilowatt-hours (kWh)—reducing electric bills by more than $10 million. Austin Energy provides rebates and low interest loans to residential customers and rebates of up to $200,000 per site to businesses.
The utility has set a goal to offset a 700 MW power plant by 2020 through its Power Saver™ Program and Austin Energy Green Building™. Between 1982 and 2003, these programs offset demand equal to a 600 MW plant. To achieve these goals, Austin Energy spends about $350 per kilowatt (kW) of energy saved, a level of cost far below the construction and operating cost of any type of new generation.
“We have made energy efficiency a firm component of our generation planning,” said Austin Energy General Manager Juan Garza. “And we continue to find new ways every day to help our customers better maximize their energy use. Energy efficiency is also a key goal of the City of Austin Climate Protection Plan.”
Both the Austin Energy Power Saver Program and Austin Energy Green Building are consistently recognized nationally for exceptional performance.
The Power Saver Program has 20 different program components. This includes a turn-key lighting retrofit program in which 200 companies participate a year, rebates for data centers making Austin Energy the only utility outside California with such a program and a refrigerator recycling program that is the first in Texas. That program has recycled more than 9,000 refrigerators and freezers since it began three years ago. Austin Energy Green Building is one of the most successful programs of its type in the nation. Last year 19% on new homes built in Austin and more than 1,000,000 square feet of commercial space were green rated.
In addition to energy efficiency, Austin Energy further reduces summer peak demand levels through the largest thermostat cycling program in the nation with 66,000 customers participating. This past summer, coordinated cycling of participants reduced peak demand by as much as 35 MW.
For more information, contact Ed
Clark, Public Information.
Phone: (512) 322-6514
Pager: (512) 802-2000 |
