SWEPCO receives Energy Star award for fifth consecutive year
by April 9, 2019 3:56 pm 249 views
Southwestern Electric Power Co. (SWEPCO), a utility of Columbus, Ohio-based American Electric Power, has been named a 2019 Energy Star Partner of the Year Sustained Excellence Award winner.
SWEPCO announced Tuesday (April 9) this is the fifth consecutive year it has received the Energy Star Partner of the Year recognition. The 2019 award is for Energy Efficiency Program Delivery, Home Performance with Energy Star. SWEPCO’s Home Performance with Energy Star program promotes the use of Energy Star-certified products and technologies that help to improve a home’s energy efficiency and comfort.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy present the Energy Star awards.
“I applaud the 2019 Energy Star award winners,” said Bill Wehrum, assistant administrator for air and radiation for the EPA. “Their innovation and leadership enhance America’s economic competitiveness. Reducing costly energy waste improves air quality and public health while protecting the environment.”
The Sustained Excellence Award is the highest honor among Energy Star awards, according to a news release. It’s given to those who have already received Energy Star Partner of the Year recognition for a minimum of two consecutive years and have exceeded the criteria needed to qualify for the recognition.
The award recognizes accomplishments in 2018 when SWEPCO completed 1,776 single-family and 1,994 multifamily projects in the home performance with Energy Start program, saving about 10.6 gigawatt-hours of energy. This savings is equal to removing 1,591 vehicles from the road for a year. Savings per single-family home rose 14% in 2018, from the previous year. SWEPCO also implemented a joint home performance with Energy Star program with Black Hills Energy Arkansas, which resulted in the completion of 375 joint projects.
“The Energy Star award highlights a program that offers SWEPCO’s eligible Arkansas residential customers no-cost comprehensive home energy assessments and energy efficiency measures such as ceiling insulation, duct sealing, LED bulbs and advanced power strips,” said Sherry McCormack, energy efficiency and consumer programs manager for SWEPCO in Arkansas. “We appreciate this recognition for SWEPCO’s staff, the implementation team from CLEAResult, and the network of contractors who work every day to help customers improve the comfort and energy efficiency of their homes.”
SWEPCO has been a Home Performance with Energy Star partner since 2012. SWEPCO will be recognized by the EPA and the Department of Energy in Washington, D.C., on April 11. SWEPCO serves 535,000 customers in western Arkansas, northwest and central Louisiana, northeast Texas and the Texas Panhandle.