By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
For 14 years, the Efficiency Smart program has been helping Bowling Green residents and businesses cut their energy bills.
On Monday evening, the city’s Board of Public Utilities voted to sign up for the program for another three years.
Efficiency Smart helps residents, businesses, and communities use less energy and save money. That could be through help selecting the best light bulbs, advice on how to keep homes cool in the summer and warm in the winter, online home energy assessments, and tips on appliances and insulation.
The program focuses on “low-cost, no-cost” solutions, according to Thomas Coyle, who spoke about Efficiency Smart at Monday’s meeting. The program doesn’t sell anything, but only makes cost-effective recommendations, he stressed.
The services are designed to empower residents to lower their electric bills and make their homes more comfortable. This includes discounts on energy-efficient lighting, rebates for energy-saving appliances and guidance on reducing electric use. https://www.bgohio.org/297/Energy-Efficiency-Programs
Coyle presented data about Bowling Green’s participation since 2011, including details on customers impacted:
- 1,118 households redeemed rebates, received discounts and got cash back through home energy rebates, the online savings store, and appliance recycling programs.
- 169 businesses were served.
- Enabled residents to install more than 60,000 efficient lighting products through community events and partnerships with community organizers and local retailers.
For businesses, the program provides technical assistance and financial incentives to encourage the installation of energy-efficient technologies. The Efficiency Smart staff works together with business customers to identify, assess, and validate energy efficiency projects.
“This is a big part of how we set ourselves as different than other communities,” when working with businesses, said Bowling Green Utilities Director Brian O’Connell.
Bowling Green has subscribed to American Municipal Power’s Efficiency Smart program since its creation in 2011. The current contract will end Dec. 31. The rate for the program will remain the same at $1.40/MWh based on the city’s 2024 MWh retail sales. The program is paid for as part of the city’s monthly AMP power bill.
Efficiency Smart has offered energy efficiency options to all Bowling Green customers including residential, commercial, and industrial. The program is an important part of the city’s economic development efforts to assist industrial customers to make informed energy decisions when they invest in their facility, O’Connell said.
The program cost is about 1.3% of the city’s annual power supply cost. If the program is not renewed it would reduce the city’s expenses in the short term, O’Connell said. However, the program has shown there is a cost benefit of lowering power supply costs for customers.
In 2013, Sawvel and Associates performed a financial analysis for the 2014 through 2016 Efficiency Smart contract renewal. That review showed the program reduces the city’s power supply expenses more than the program expense itself which was at a time of historically low market energy prices.
During Monday’s meeting, Coyle also listed community savings seen by Bowling Green since 2011:
- Total electric utility savings of $38,866,680.
- Summer peak savings of 7,530 KW.
- Annual savings of 49,278 MWh.
- Lifetime savings of 682,280 MWh.
- Lifetime customer savings of $58,487,927.
Coyle talked about customer satisfaction, with the Efficiency Smart program lowering customers’ utility bills, increasing customer loyalty and trust, and fostering a sense of community and pride.
The benefits for economic development were also discussed, including:
- Retention of businesses by lowering operating costs, making businesses more competitive.
- Growth, with lower costs enabling potential investments in facility expansions or added production lines.
- Attraction of new businesses to the community.
- Helps customers meet their corporate objectives and sustainability goals.
- Plays a role in community’s sustainability efforts.
