Jefferson City, Mo. (Aug. 18, 2020) – Jefferson City School District will save more than $40,000 in electricity costs annually after implementing smart energy upgrades with the Ameren Missouri BizSavers Program. Students and staff returning to class Aug. 24 will have a brighter learning environment as a result of energy-efficient LED lighting upgrades.
Jefferson City School District replaced nearly 3,800 inefficient fixtures with LED lighting at the high school, middle school and several other buildings in the district. LED lightbulbs use up to 55% less energy and can last up to 13 times longer than fluorescent light bulbs. They also generate less heat, reducing the strain on the buildings’ air conditioning systems. The new LED lighting improvements will allow the facilities to reduce their lighting load by 494,472 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year.
“We were excited to learn that, with Ameren Missouri’s BizSavers program, we could update our buildings to be more energy-efficient while also saving on our operating costs year after year,” said Frank Underwood, director of facilities, safety, transportation and security at Jefferson City Public School District. “We’re pleased to have the opportunity to re-invest these savings in other ways that benefit our students and staff.”
The district also saved more than $42,000 in purchase and installation costs for the LED lighting and energy-efficient upgrades thanks to cash incentives from Ameren Missouri.
“We’re proud to help school districts save money on their energy statements, so they can spend it on what really matters – their students,” said Rich Wright, manager of energy-efficiency at Ameren Missouri. “By taking advantage of these incentives, schools and universities throughout the region have been able to reduce up-front costs on smart energy upgrades and reallocate their annual savings.”
Since 2018, Missouri schools have saved more than $3.5 million on their energy statements and conserved more than 41 million kWh of electricity as a direct result of energy-efficient upgrades. That's enough electricity to power nearly 5,000 homes for a full year. Ameren Missouri helped offset the districts' installation costs by providing more than $6 million in incentives.
As part of its BizSavers program, Ameren Missouri provides cash incentives for energy-efficient upgrades, such as LED lighting, high-efficiency HVAC and refrigeration systems, commercial-grade cooking equipment, motor controls/variable frequency drives, and much more. The program is one of more than 26 energy-efficiency programs offered by Ameren Missouri to help residential and commercial customers reduce energy costs. Ameren Missouri expects to invest $226 million over the life of its energy-efficiency programs, which in turn would provide $592 million in benefits for customers. Visit AmerenMissouriSavings.com to learn about easy savings opportunities and AmerenMissouri.com/BizSavers to see how your business can save.
Ameren Missouri has been providing electric and gas service for more than 100 years, and the company's electric rates are among the lowest in the nation. Ameren Missouri's mission is to power the quality of life for its 1.2 million electric and 132,000 natural gas customers in central and eastern Missouri. The company's service area covers 64 counties and more than 500 communities, including the greater St. Louis area. For more information, visit Ameren.com/Missouri or follow us on Twitter at @AmerenMissouri or Facebook.com/AmerenMissouri.
Contact
Ameren Missouri Communications
314.554.2182
missouricommunications@ameren.com