(L-R) Jeff Krause and Sharon Schaefer from the YMCA, myself, New Rochelle Sustainability Coordinator Deborah Newborn, and Jennifer Rommel of Con Ed.
For more information, read the news release announcing the YMCA’s savings, or the coverage of the event in Patch and The Daily New Rochelle.
Also, more information about the ConEd Energy Efficiency Program is available on their website.
New Rochelle’s recently-approved GreeNR Sustainability Plan aims to reduce community-wide energy use by at least 20% by 2030. To meet this goal, we need to work in partnership with forward-looking residents and business owners. After all, the private sector accounts for more than 95% of New Rochelle’s energy use, with the commercial sector making up nearly a quarter.
Con Edison’s Small Business Energy Efficiency Program provides a critical source of assistance to businesses and not-for-profits looking to use less energy and cut costs. The program is proactive and mutually beneficial: energy experts from the company will conduct a free survey of a small business’s energy use, provide a set of recommended upgrades to reduce consumption, and — here’s a key point — pay for up to 70% of the recommended upgrades.
One of the early local participants in this program is the New Rochelle YMCA. Yesterday, I joined officials from the Y and Con Ed to announce the very positive results from this partnership: 30% savings on the YMCA’s electric bill, with a payback on the Y’s share of the capital investment measured in just a few short months, and more savings in the years ahead.
Of course, energy efficiency benefits us all — less reliance on fossil fuels, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, greater energy independence, more reliability in our electrical grid, and dollars saved, instead of wasted.
I applaud the New Rochelle YMCA for taking advantage of this great opportunity, and I hope that the Y’s successful example will encourage many others to do the same.
