News
Mohonasen saving almost $1 million in energy costs
Nov. 6, 2008
The
Mohonasen Central School District was once again recognized for its
energy saving efforts.
At its Nov. 3 Board of Education meeting, Energy Educator James Dilbone accepted an Energy Pacesetter Award on behalf of the district. The award came from Energy Education, an organization that assists organizations in energy-saving efforts.
“This is possible because of the level of commitment from people across the district,” Dilbone said. “Just the fact that you’re turning your lights off has a global impact and in that way Mohonasen is making a global impact.”
In the 30 months that Mohonasen has been participating in the Energy Education program, the district has achieved a 31 percent cost savings, totaling $956,570.
“Reaching this level of savings at this stage of the program is a significant achievement. The superintendent and board, along with other administration, educators and staff members are to be commended for clearly fulfilling their commitment to being good stewards of their financial resources and the environment,” Dr. William S. Spears, CEO and founder of Energy Education, said. “The district joins a very committed, elite group of organizations across the country working hard to conserve energy so that dollars saved can be redirected to other more important needs.”
A key benefit of the Energy Education program is that all costs come out of the existing utility budget and in Mohonasen’s case, the savings more than pays for the program.
“Thanks to this program, we are able to redirect money to other areas of the budget that otherwise may have fallen victim to budget cuts,” Superintendent Dr. Kathleen Spring said. “With so many costs continuing to rise, it’s great that we’ve been able to save this much money in the area of energy.”
As the Energy Educator, Dilbone tracks energy consumption district wide—including electricity, natural gas and fuel oil—using energy-accounting software. By tracking consumption and analyzing energy use, he can quickly identify and correct areas that need immediate attention and in many cases he is able to see almost immediate results.
Energy Education has worked with more than 900 educational organizations across the nation, positively impacting the environment of more than 12 million people by helping clients save more than $1.5 billion in 23 years.
