MECA member-cooperatives participating in the Energy Optimization (EO) collaborative have again exceeded the kilowatt-hour reductions set by the Michigan Legislature in P.A. 295. Overall, the collaborative achieved 114 percent of its 2013 goal. All collaborative members exceeded their residential and Commercial/Industrial (C&I) goals, which included carryovers from 2012. Programs that exceeded target goals were Residential Energy Star; Residential HVAC; Residential Audit and Weatherization and C&I General Business Services.
“For 2013, the Residential Energy Star program exceeded goal by an impressive 175 percent,” explains Art Thayer, MECA’s energy efficiency programs director. “From a member perspective, Ontonagon, Alger Delta and Thumb Electric co-ops all exceeded goal by 120 percent or more for this past year. Ontonagon led the way for all collaborative members by exceeding goal by an impressive 284 percent.”
“Hats off to our member-cooperative staff members with EO responsibilities, MECA’s EO manager Art Thayer, and the team at Wisconsin Energy Conservation Corporation (WECC) for their combined efforts in assisting our member-co-ops in meeting their EO targets,” said MECA CEO Craig Borr.
Thayer also spoke at the recent Midwest Energy Solutions Conference in Chicago about Michigan’s EO program and the challenges associated with delivering a successful energy efficiency program in a rural setting. Thayer explained how MECA’s collaborative, statewide approach with electric co-ops and some municipal utilities, plus its partnership with WECC, have helped residential and business programs flourish.
The Wisconsin Energy Conservation Corp. is a Madison-based company with over 34 years’ experience in helping businesses, utilities, consumers and policymakers implement energy efficiency and renewable energy programs that save both environmental and financial resources.
