Mexico, Mo. (Aug. 18, 2020) – The Mexico School District will be running at peak efficiency when school resumes next week, thanks to smart energy upgrades across its 59 buildings. In total, the district is expected to save approximately $123,000 on its energy statements this year alone.
Over the past three years, 4,200 lamps and fixtures were replaced with LED lights in several buildings across the district. In addition, heating and cooling upgrades were made at Hawthorne Elementary, Eugene Field Elementary and Mexico Middle School. The district reduced installation costs by taking advantage of nearly $292,000 in cash incentives from the Ameren Missouri BizSavers Program.
“Taking steps to be more energy-efficient is just one way the district is fiscally conservative with taxpayer dollars,” said Marci Minor, director of communications for Mexico School District. “Our administrative team collaborated with Ameren Missouri to provide the best option to maintain a safe and efficient learning environment for our students; it’s a win-win for everyone involved.”
Upgrading inefficient HVAC systems can significantly reduce energy usage by 30–50%, which helps save on utility costs long-term. Meanwhile, LED upgrades resulted in up to a 55% reduction in energy consumption over comparable fluorescent lights. Since 2017, the school district has reduced its annual energy use by 1,339,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh).
“We enjoy helping organizations like Mexico School District become more energy-efficient and reallocate dollars from their energy savings to where they matter the most,” said Rich Wright, manager of energy-efficiency at Ameren Missouri. “Often, organizations think they may not be able to afford to upgrade to more efficient technologies, but the beauty of these programs is that, with Ameren Missouri’s cash incentives, as well as the annual energy savings from improvements, these projects quickly pay for themselves and end up saving businesses and organizations a lot of money going forward.”
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 residential savings opportunities and AmerenMissouri.com/BizSavers to see how your business can save.
Mexico School District 59 is located in Mexico, Missouri. The district currently educates over 2,400 students in eight campus locations: an early childhood center, three elementary schools, a middle school, high school, alternative school, and career center. The mission of the Mexico School District is teaching, learning, and caring, #MEX59TLC.
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
Mexico School District
573.581.3773