New Braunfels Utilities - http://www.nbutexas.com

NBU NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 23, 2004

Contact: Gretchen Reuwer, NBU Communications Manager, (830) 629-8486

NBU recognized for efforts in energy efficiency

NEW BRAUNFELS—Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts Carole Keeton Strayhorn recently recognized NBU for its efforts and commitment to energy efficiency and improving the air quality in the State of Texas.

The Texas Emissions Reduction Plan, also known as Senate Bill 5, amended the Health and Safety Code, in part, by requiring political subdivisions in affected counties to: 1) implement all cost effective energy-efficiency measures; 2) establish a goal to reduce energy consumption by 5% each year for five years; and 3) report efforts and progress to the State Energy Conservation Office (SECO).

Shortly after SB5 was passed in 2002 calling for governmental agencies and political subdivisions in certain affected counties to make their facilities more efficient, the NBU Board of Trustees passed a resolution which set a goal to reduce electric consumption at NBU facilities by one fourth over a five-year period.

NBU staff has been working with SECO to conduct energy audits of all facilities to determine opportunities for energy efficiency improvements. Some of these improvements have included fluorescent lighting retrofits to existing buildings, air system upgrades at wastewater plants, the installation of programmable thermostats, and operational changes to improve efficiency.

Another key effort that NBU undertook was the energy and water design efficiencies of the new service center on FM 306.

“Although this building was already in the planning stages when SB5 was passed, it will help NBU in the quest to operate more efficiently,” NBU CEO Paula DiFonzo explains.

The Service Center replaced several aging, inefficient structures and was designed with energy efficiency in mind. These energy efficiency techniques include such things as passive solar design, which allows the benefit of natural lighting from the sun while minimizing excessive heat gain, rainwater collection for landscape irrigation, T-8 fluorescent lighting, motion detectors for lighting, and an efficient air-conditioning system.

“We have been charged with identifying goals, determining strategies and leading the utility through the process of implementing energy efficiency technologies and practices that can reduce operating costs, improve air quality, provide reliable energy and protect our energy security,” says NBU Key Accounts Manager David Werley, who coordinated this effort for NBU. “Energy efficiency upgrades that are well analyzed and properly installed will always pay for themselves in savings on the electric bill.”

A certificate of recognition was recently presented to New Braunfels Utilities by SECO and the Texas Energy Partnership for the effort undertaken by the Utilities to lead the way for others to follow in operating more efficiently.