Going Green Earns Maricopa County Community College District More Than $270,000 Rebate and $2.7 Million Savings on Electric Bills

July 24, 2009

Energy efficiency means smart money for the Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD).

The District is set to receive a $271,558 rebate check and will also save a whopping $2.7 million on their electric bills over the life of newly-installed energy efficiency equipment at three college campuses.                

The District will be presented with an over-sized, ceremonial rebate check at 6:30 p.m. on July 28, at the District’s administrative offices, 2111 W. 14^th Street, Tempe.

“This check from APS is proof that the Maricopa Community College District takes seriously the need to be wise stewards of the taxpayers’ money,” said Chancellor Rufus Glasper. “By saving energy, we’re helping the environment and saving money, too, which means everyone wins.”

Daniel Froetscher, vice president, APS Energy Delivery, who will present the July 28^th check, said MCCCD’s overall savings are impressive. “This should illustrate that energy efficiency makes not only environmental, but economic sense,” said Froetscher. “We encourage our business customers, school districts, non profit agencies and government entities to work with the APS Solutions for Business Program, and take a long, hard look at what they can do to save money and energy.”

Paradise Valley, Estrella Mountain and Glendale Community College, North Campus, all installed energy efficient motors, chillers, lighting or refrigeration to earn the rebates and shave thousands of kilowatt-hours off their annual electricity use.

Usama Shami, APS senior consulting engineer, who worked with the colleges to utilize the APS Solutions for Business Program, said the new equipment will also:

• Displace enough CO2 equivalent to taking 2,944 cars off the road.
• Save 10 million gallons of water.
• Save enough energy to power 83 homes.

Shami added that any APS non-residential customer can take advantage of the program by visiting aps.com and selecting Business Rebates. The program is paid for by APS customers and approved by the Arizona Corporation Commission.

The Maricopa County Community College District is one of the largest community college districts in the nation. It includes 10 colleges -- Chandler-Gilbert Community College, Estrella Mountain Community College, GateWay Community College, Glendale Community College, Mesa Community College, Paradise Valley Community College, Phoenix College, Rio Salado College, Scottsdale Community College and South Mountain Community College. The district also includes the Maricopa Skill Center, Southwest Skill Center, several satellite campuses and business/industry, technical and customized training institutes.

APS, Arizona's largest and longest-serving electric utility, serves more than 1.1 million customers in 11 of the state's 15 counties. With headquarters in Phoenix, APS is the largest subsidiary of Pinnacle West Capital Corporation (NYSE:PNW).

Maria Arellano, APS Media
(602) 250-3155

Tom Gariepy, MCCCD
(480) 731-8248