Jan 10 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Robert S. Hong Pasadena Star-News, Calif.


Who said saving energy can't be profitable?

During a year full of eco-friendly initiatives, San Gabriel officials have put a cork in the city's energy consumption -- switching out lightbulbs for energy efficient lighting, purchasing hybrid vehicles, even planting trees.

Those and other efforts to make San Gabriel a greener place recently paid off when Southern California Edison and the San Gabriel EnergyWise Partnership presented the city with a check for $50,000.

"I think it's great," said Mayor Harry Baldwin. "We're always looking for ways to save money and do something great for the environment."

The efforts began in June of last year, when EnergyWise Partnership officials came to a City Council meeting to talk about the rebates offer.

The partnership is a public education collaborative of 30 San Gabriel Valley cities, the Southern California Association of Governments, the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments, and Southern California Edison. Its goal is to annual energy usage by nearly 3 million kilowatt-hours.

"We go to all the cities in the San Gabriel Valley and educate and inform them of ways to save energy," said Marissa Castro-Salvati, local public affairs region manager for Edison.

City officials responded by holding a series of meetings to explore energy saving projects and create a time table for implementing them, said Administrative Services Manager Cynthia Smith.

Representatives from Edison and Intergy Corp. visited city facilities to help local officials craft an energy saving plan. The largest undertaking involved replacing lighting in all city buildings, officials said.

Motion sensors also were installed so lights turn off when not in use. Both efforts saved 334,708 kiloWatt hours per year, officials said. And the city saved an additional $47,000 or so by switching to energy saving lighting.

The city also replaced some electrically illuminated street signs with highly reflective metal signs.

Now, Baldwin said, city staffers are working to identify other potential green savings for this year.

robert.hong@sgvn.com

(626) 578-6300, Ext. 4586

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