City of Flagstaff, APS Partnership to Reduce Greenhouse Gases

March 11, 2008

Flagstaff  -   Parent/teacher conferences in the Flagstaff Unified School District elementary schools have a new twist this year – enabling parents and teachers to help improve the environment and save money.

The City of Flagstaff Sustainability Program and APS will conduct a lighting swap from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m., March 12, 13 and 14 at the following schools during parent/teacher conferences:

About 4,700 ENERGY STAR-qualified compact fluorescent lights (CFL) will be given out, free of charge, to each parent and teacher that brings an incandescent light bulb.

The lights are 75 percent more efficient than standard bulbs and last five to seven years. In addition, each light will save customers about $30 over the life of each bulb, with total savings of more than $140,000 over the expected life of the 4,700 bulbs given away.

“This is an exciting opportunity for the City of Flagstaff,” said Nicole Woodman, manager, Flagstaff Sustainability Program. “The Sustainability Program's first large scale outreach effortـwill reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the City while educating a diverse sector of our community about the simple steps they can take to save energy in their homes. Changing a light is one of the simplest steps our community can do that will yield immediate results for both the consumer and our environment.”

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), by replacing just one 60-watt bulb with a CFL of equivalent wattage, households in Flagstaff will avoid emissions equal to taking 43 cars off the roads.

Tom Hines, program manager, APS Residential Lighting said, “Partnering with Flagstaff schools provides a perfect opportunity to reach decision makers about what they can do to improve their environment by conserving energy. But, this is also a good way to reach tomorrow’s leaders today, making it easy for kids to take a simple but active role in energy conservation. This is as easy as having them think about how, when and whether they need to turn on a light.”

The APS CFL program is paid for by APS customers and approved by the Arizona Corporation Commission.

The lighting swap will continue at the FUSD’s other three elementary schools as follows:

APS, Arizona’s largest and longest-serving electricity utility, serves about 1.1 million customers in 11 of the state’s 15 counties. With headquarters in Phoenix, APS is the principal subsidiary of Pinnacle West Capital Corp. (NYSE:PNW).

The City of Flagstaff’s Sustainability Program is dedicated to promoting sustainable living and providing practical solutions to the Flagstaff community.

Cindy May, APS
(928) 773-6416

Nicole Woodman
City of Flagstaff
(928) 779-7685,  extension 3208