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Incentive program use helps delay the need for new power plants

PLAINFIELD AND BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – When ������Ƶ in Bloomington expanded by 90,000 square feet, it did so with energy efficiency in mind.

That forethought earned the college a $71,160 incentive payment from Duke Energy’s Smart$aver® Prescriptive program, which helps reduce the purchase and installation costs of high-efficiency lighting and other equipment. Smart$aver aims to lower power consumption, which reduces the need to build new power plants, thereby lowering costs for all Duke Energy customers.

“If we can delay building new power plants, that helps us manage costs for all of our customers,” said Bruce Calloway, Duke Energy’s Bloomington community relations manager. “That’s why we offer programs like this — because the most economical power plant is the one we don’t have to build.”

The community college invested more than $297,000 to install LED lighting and occupancy sensors. The upgrades will conserve an estimated 257,461 kilowatt-hours annually, enough to power about 200 average-size homes.

“������Ƶ Bloomington would like to thank Duke Energy for implementing this important incentive program,” said Chancellor Jennie Vaughan. “We plan to reinvest the Duke Energy incentive payment in more energy efficiency improvements.”

In 2016, Duke Energy awarded businesses participating in the Smart$aver program approximately $12 million in incentives for projects that reduced energy consumption by approximately 97,000 megawatt-hours. The greenhouse gas reductions from those savings are the equivalent of taking more than 14,000 cars off the road for a year. The program is part of the company’s overall energy efficiency offerings, which include an array of programs for homeowners and businesses.