NEWS
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NYPA Sets Feb. 13 Forum in Albany on ‘Power to Schools’ Program Contact: February 6, 2007 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ALBANY—Capital District school officials will learn about a major opportunity to save energy and money when the New York Power Authority (NYPA) conducts a forum on its “Power to Schools” program on Tuesday, Feb. 13 at The Clarion Hotel of Albany, 3 Watervliet Ave. Extension. The forum, scheduled for 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m., will include a presentation by John Hamor, NYPA’s executive director of state governmental relations, and Andrea Phillips, a member of the Authority’s energy services staff. The Power to Schools program was created by state legislation enacted in 2004 that authorizes NYPA to assist public and private schools throughout New York in carrying out energy efficiency projects and using clean energy technologies such as solar power and fuel cells. The law also allows the Power Authority to help schools buy economical electricity in New York State’s competitive power markets. “Energy efficiency is vital, at all times and in all places,” said Timothy S. Carey, NYPA’s president and chief executive officer. “But it’s particularly important in our schools, where every dollar not spent on energy can be spent directly for purely educational purposes, helping to meet critical needs while easing the burden on local taxpayers.” The Power to Schools program creates a partnership between the Power Authority and the State Education Department, which will be responsible for issuing the building permits required to perform energy efficiency work in school facilities. NYPA will oversee all phases of a project, beginning with an audit to identify energy-saving potential and continuing through installation of new lighting, boilers, chillers and other energy efficiency measures. The Authority will finance the work with low-interest loans and will recover its costs by sharing in the savings on energy bills, after which the participating district will retain all savings. The Power Authority recently completed its first Power to Schools project, at the Albany School District’s offices in the historic Academy Building. The work included replacement of the building’s inefficient steam boiler plant with two new boilers and installation of a new temperature control system. A second project, planned for Albany High School, will feature replacement of the current chillers and cooling tower with more-efficient equipment, and improvements to the heating control system. Overall, NYPA will provide financing of more than $2.3 million for the two Albany projects, which are expected to save the school district and taxpayers about $131,000 annually. They will also avoid the burning of more than 1,700 barrels of oil and the emission of more than 520 tons of greenhouse gases each year. Statewide, the Power Authority has completed energy efficiency projects at almost 1,200 public school facilities under other programs. The projects include initiatives carried out in Albany schools in 1998 and 2002 that now save the district’s taxpayers about $300,000 a year. The Power to Schools program builds on the earlier efforts by authorizing participation by private schools and confirming NYPA’s ability to carry out projects in all public schools, including those that don’t obtain electricity from the Authority. The Albany forum is one in a series on the Power to Schools program that NYPA is conducting in various parts of the state. School officials wishing to attend the Feb. 13 event or to arrange energy audits of their facilities may contact Andrea Phillips at 914-391-5420 or by e-mail at Phillips.a@nypa.gov. About NYPA: ■ NYPA uses no tax money or state credit. It finances its operations through the sale of bonds and revenues earned in large part through sales of electricity. ■ NYPA is a leader in promoting energy-efficiency, new energy technologies and electric transportation initiatives. ■ It is the nation’s largest state-owned electric utility, with 18 generating facilities in various parts of the state and more than 1,400 circuit-miles of transmission lines. |
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