Program
helps save power expenses
| Small Central Coast businesses
are eligible |
By Glenn Cravens
The Californian
Small businesses on the Central Coast can benefit
from a program that will help them conserve energy and lower
their utility bills. On Friday, Ecology Action, a Santa Cruz-based
nonprofit organization, launched RightLights, a $1.9 million
program to help businesses with 10 or fewer employees buy
more efficient lighting.
"We're going to show businesses a way to conserve energy
and save money," said California Public Utilities Commissioner
Loretta Lynch. Businesses in Monterey, Santa Cruz and San
Benito counties can participate. How much money they're eligible
for depends on their size and needs.
The PUC obtained the funding from the state, and Ecology
Action has found contractors who'll do the repairs and replacements
for less than the going rate.
Ecology Action representatives held a news conference Friday
at a Santa Cruz business that is expected to reap the awards.
A contractor reworked the lighting in her business for $1,900.
Through RightLights, she received $1,300 to help offset the
costs.
The business is now expected to save $2,760 in utility fees
for the rest of the year, according to Ecology Action.
The goal is to help 100 Santa Cruz-area companies and 595
overall on the Central Coast.
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