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School district, PenLight team up to pursue energy savings

The Peninsula School District continues to be rewarded thanks to a project with the Peninsula Light Company.

Top Photo

From left to right: Peninsula Light Co. CEO JafarTaghavi; Ray Grinberg, power resources director for PenLight; Peninsula School District Board President Wendy Wojtanowicz; Superintendent Chuck Cuzzetto; and Jonathan White, PenLight Director of Member Service and Marketing.
Brett Davis   Gateway photo
From left to right: Peninsula Light Co. CEO JafarTaghavi; Ray Grinberg, power resources director for PenLight; Peninsula School District Board President Wendy Wojtanowicz; Superintendent Chuck Cuzzetto; and Jonathan White, PenLight Director of Member Service and Marketing.
Published: 02/13/13 12:05 am | Updated: 02/13/13 11:45 am
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The Peninsula School District continues to be rewarded thanks to a project with the Peninsula Light Company.

PenLight representatives provided an energy rebate check last Thursday for $356,380 during the school board meeting at district headquarters.

The rebate is part of a commercial lighting program to retrofit several schools with energy-efficient lighting and other measures designed to save energy, said Jonathan White, PenLight’s director of member services and marketing. Two other company officials on hand were Resources Director Ray Grinberg and CEO Jafar Taghavi.

The rebate is courtesy of funds PenLight passes on to its customers from its own supplier, the Bonneville Power Administration.

The project updated the lighting fixtures and controls at seven schools and two administrative buildings, PenLight’s Jim Bellamy said.

Interior lights were upgraded to improve not only energy efficiency but to improve the lighting quality of classrooms, offices and hallways, Bellamy said, and exterior lights were replaced with long-life lamps and fixtures to reduce operating and maintenance costs. They also improve light levels and safety, he said.

The schools and two administrative buildings, plus the resulting savings in electricity costs, were:

 • Artondale Elementary: 67 percent

 • Discovery Elementary: 71 percent

 • Evergreeen Elementary: 68 percent

 • Kopachuck Middle: 70 percent

 • Minter Creek Elementary: 69 percent

 • Vaughn Elementary: 63 percent

 • Education Service Center: 56 percent

 • Transportation Facility: 52 percent

Reporter Brett Davis can be reached at 253-358-4151 or by email at brett.davis@gateline.com. Follow him on Twitter, @gateway_brett.

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