Great Bend conducts energy audit

Last Update: 12/10/2009 5:48 pm

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Great Bend conducts energy audit

GREAT BEND, Kansas – School districts, counties and cities are looking for ways to save money, especially during the recession. Now the City of Great Bend is studying how to cut its power costs.

The city is now using energy auditors to find ways to save money.

“And we had viability reports done by two firms -- Energy Solutions Professionals and ConEdison Solutions -- and those two firms came in and they reviewed utility bills,” said Howard Partington, Great Bend city administrator. “They looked at the buildings, and the lighting, the heating -- those kinds of things.”

The preliminary reports suggest the city could reduce its energy bill by more than $1 million by making some simple changes.

“We want to look at street lights, traffic signals, all those kinds of things to see if there's ways we can be more efficient, through LED lights for example,” Partington said.

More costly changes could include upgrading heating and electrical systems to make them more efficient. And if the city decides to more forward, it could elect what upgrades it would like to make and would probably issue bonds to pay for it all.

“If you actually go through the process with them and you go through the bond issue, they will actually show you how much you can save over a period of time,” Partington said. “And if you fail to save that much, they will reimburse you some of that.”

But before any decisions are made, the city council would have to approve the recommendations made by one of the energy auditors. And if all signs are a go, it will take a few years for the energy savings to add up.

The first firm that conducted an energy audit for the city will present its findings Friday and the second company will make its presentation next week.

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