{"id":9073,"date":"2015-02-02T08:25:55","date_gmt":"2015-02-02T13:25:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chescotimes.com\/?p=9073"},"modified":"2015-02-02T08:25:55","modified_gmt":"2015-02-02T13:25:55","slug":"county-signs-powerwater-conservation-pact-to-cut-costs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/?p=9073","title":{"rendered":"County signs power\/water conservation pact to cut costs"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ChesterCountyLogo\"<\/a>WEST CHESTER \u2014 A contract for the start of construction on $5.9 million in energy and water conservation measures at Chester County government facilities was introduced to the Chester County Board of Commissioners at today\u2019s Sunshine meeting.\u00a0 The contract, presented by Chester County Director of Facilities and Parks, Steve Fromnick, includes conservation measures guaranteed to provide $6.7 million in cost savings through the county\u2019s 15-year energy performance contract with Constellation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThrough our strategic plan focus on the environment, we have already taken great strides to reduce energy usage within county-owned buildings,\u201d said Terence Farrell, Chester County Commissioners\u2019 Chair.\u00a0 \u201cThis new project reflects our continued commitment to implement water and energy saving measures for the good of the environment, but that also have the benefit of bringing a monetary return to the county.\u201d<\/p>\n

Commissioner Kathi Cozzone noted: \u201cLike many other large businesses and organizations, Chester County government is facing a situation where aging facilities, volatile energy costs and capital constraints make operating buildings cost-effectively a major challenge. Since 2010, we have decreased our electricity usage within county facilities significantly and reduced our energy expenditure by more than 20 percent, but there is much more that we can do to reduce our carbon footprint.\u00a0 Entering into this contract with Constellation will allow us to enhance our energy efficiency efforts, improve our facilities and make major strides towards water conservation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBy implementing the water and energy conservation measures proposed by Constellation, Chester County will be saving an estimated 2.2 million kilowatt-hours in electricity and more than 18 million gallons of water every year,\u201d added Commissioner Michelle Kichline.\u00a0 \u201cEnergy performance contracting is a valuable resource for allowing us to leverage our existing operational budgets for needed capital improvements \u2013 all while helping to reach our environmental goals.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Chester County task force researched and prepared a \u201crequest for quotes\u201d and a \u201crequest for proposals\u201d from Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) that identify water and energy savings opportunities and the costs associated with conservation and facility improvements.\u00a0 The task force included representatives from the Facilities & Parks, Purchasing and Finance departments.<\/p>\n

In his recommendation of Constellation to the Commissioners, Steve Fromnick said:\u00a0 \u201cConstellation representatives showed the greatest understanding of Chester County\u2019s needs and our vision for facility improvement and energy conservation.\u00a0 The company\u2019s proposal offered more measures for the dollars, and demonstrated the most attractive cash flows based on our investment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe $6.7 million in savings is guaranteed by Constellation.\u00a0 If our utility costs are not reduced by this amount following our investment, then Constellation makes up the shortfall.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pending approval of the contract at Thursday afternoon\u2019s Commissioners\u2019 meeting, Constellation will begin energy conservation and facility improvements at Chester County\u2019s administration building at 313 W. Market Street, the Justice Center, Historic Courthouse and the Government Services Center in West Chester, as well as the Henrietta Hankin Library, Pocopson Home, the Chester County Prison, Work Release and the Youth Center.\u00a0\u00a0 The conservation measures to be installed by Constellation include smart electric meters, energy efficient lighting including LED fixtures, steam efficiency improvements, kitchen hood controls, insulation blankets, low flow toilets, sinks and showers, cooling tower meters, HVAC equipment replacements, ozone laundry systems and building automation system upgrades.<\/p>\n

Work is scheduled for completion by January 2016.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WEST CHESTER \u2014 A contract for the start of construction on $5.9 million in energy and water conservation measures at Chester County government facilities was introduced to the Chester County Board of Commissioners at today\u2019s Sunshine meeting.\u00a0 The contract, presented by Chester County Director of Facilities and Parks, Steve Fromnick, includes conservation measures guaranteed to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9072,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[138,5358],"class_list":["post-9073","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-chester-county","tag-constellation-energy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9073","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9073"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9073\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9072"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9073"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9073"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9073"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}