Utility Incentives

When Planning Efficiency Upgrades, Don’t Ignore Vacuum - Reduced Power Consumption and Utility Incentives Drive Cost Savings

By Scott A. Williams, Contributing Editor

Electric utility incentive programs encourage industrial and manufacturing companies to reduce power consumption by paying part of the cost to upgrade to more efficient equipment. It’s a great concept, but many customers only go after low-hanging fruit, such as upgrades for lighting or air compressors, and go no further.

Read Full Story

Establishing the Energy Incentive Benchmark - The Ameren Illinois ActOnEnergy® Program

By Rod Smith, Blower & Vacuum Best Practices Magazine

Blower & Vacuum Best Practices Magazine interviewed Keith Martin (Director Energy Efficiency) and Cheryl Miller (Energy Efficiency Advisor) from Ameren Illinois and Robert Baumgartner (Business Program Manager) from Leidos Engineering. Seven years ago, a team of three of us at Ameren Illinois made the commitment to create and deliver a program that would make a difference. Today, the Ameren Illinois ActOnEnergy program is an award-winning energy efficiency program covering southern and central Illinois. After six program years, we are thrilled to report our business customers are saving over $132 million in annual energy costs due to energy efficiency measures they implemented with financial incentive assistance from ActOnEnergy.
[ Read Full Story ]

PG&E’s Third-Party Energy Incentive Programs

Blower & Vacuum Best Practices® Magazine interviewed Mr. Justin Kjeldsen, Mr. Jeff Kohn, and Mr. Sam Zimmerman, Senior Program Managers for Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E).

PG&E runs energy incentive programs through two channels. We have our core channel representing the majority of our energy incentive offerings, and we offer energy incentives through third-party channels. Our Third-Party programs account for approximately twenty percent (20%) of the energy incentive dollars. PG&E has contracted with thirty-four (34) third-party companies, or implementers, to run fifty (50) contracts.
[ Read Full Story ]

Water Treatment Plant Receives $1.7 million Energy Grant

By Blower & Vacuum Best Practices Magazine

A new cogeneration system installed at the Budd Inlet Treatment Plant by the LOTT (Lacey, Olympia, Tumwater, and Thurston County) Clean Water Alliance late last year uses treatment by-products as fuel to generate electricity and heat energy. This renewable energy system, combined with an aeration blower retrofit currently underway at the Budd Inlet Treatment Plant, is expected to save LOTT more than $228,000 per year in utility costs.
[ Read Full Story ]

Energy Trust of Oregon's Production Efficiency Incentive Program

Blower & Vacuum Best Practices® Magazine interviewed Mr. Ray Hawksley (Industrial Technical Manager) of the Energy Trust of Oregon Inc.

Energy Trust of Oregon is an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to helping utility customers benefit from saving energy and tapping renewable resources. Our services, cash incentives and energy solutions have helped participating customers of Portland General Electric, Pacific Power, NW Natural and Cascade Natural Gas save nearly $600 million on energy bills.
[ Read Full Story ]

Energy Incentives from Great River Energy

Blower & Vacuum Best Practices® Magazine interviewed Mr. Jake Selseth (Energy Incentive Program Administrator) of Great River Energy (GRE).

GRE administers a $9.5 million dollar energy rebate incentive budget in 2010 for our 28 co-ops. Fifty percent of the budget is designated for Residential and fifty percent targets Commercial, Industrial, Agricultural. This is the same budget we had in 2009 and in 2008, our budget was $6.5 million.
[ Read Full Story ]