St. Louis Children’s Hospital will reduce its electric usage by more than a million kilowatthours (kWh) per year, thanks to a partnership with AmerenUE’s Business Energy Efficiency Program. That’s a savings of more than half a million dollars in a decade – money that can be used toward services for children -- equal to eliminating annual average electric usage in 74 Missouri homes!
Through the program, UE is providing nearly $52,000 to the hospital to help cover the cost of installing new, high efficiency lighting in its parking garages. The incentive funds will cover about 40 percent of the cost to install the new lighting.
UE’s Business Energy Efficiency Program was introduced in February 2009 and offers Missouri business customers $24 million in incentives for installation of approved standard equipment meeting UE’s minimum energy efficiency requirements in lighting, motors, heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) and refrigeration. All projects require approval by UE.
Patients and visitors to St. Louis Children’s Hospital will enjoy the new, two-lamp fluorescent fixtures that replace inefficient 175-watt metal halide lighting. Talk about a savings – the old bulbs cost $21.45 each and must be replaced every six months. The fluorescent T8s cost $2.63 each and last up to two years!
“We recently allocated our first payment toward installing new light fixtures in a second parking garage, so the collaboration has already started a chain reaction of energy efficiency,” says Joel VanHoose, manager of Facility Operations at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.
“Our customers have told us that they want options to save energy and reduce their electric bills,” says Richard Mark, senior vice president, Customer Operations. “We are responding by working with businesses to meet their future energy needs. Being an efficient energy consumer saves participating customers money on their energy bills and helps to keep costs down for all UE electric customers.”
AmerenUE, founded in 1902, provides electric and gas service to approximately 1.2 million customers across central and eastern Missouri, including the greater St. Louis area. UE serves 57 Missouri counties and 500 towns. The company's electric rates are among the lowest in the nation. For more information, visit www.ameren.com.
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Contact: Lisa Manzo 314-554-6157