August 31, 2009EnerPath helps LA Reduce Energy and Water Use at Record LevelsIn the midst of a California summer and a third year water shortage, Los Angeles residents, businesses and government have worked together to reduce water usage at record levels for the second consecutive month in addition to a cut in energy use.

According to a laist.com article, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced August 26 that the city had reduced its energy and water use at record levels thanks to a number of recently implemented programs.

For the month of July, Angelenos reduced water consumption by 17 percent from 2008. The previous month, June was down 11 percent from its 2008 counterpart. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) attributes a portion of these water savings to its mandated water conservation measures that began June 1. With this, customers that use more than their Tier 1 water allotment were moved into higher water rates, known as Tier 2 allotment.

However, the city’s continued water and energy savings are also credited to LADWP’s implementation of energy efficiency programs that install energy-efficient equipment in properties throughout the city. EnerPath, an energy efficiency consulting and contracting firm played a key role in the success of this program since February 2008.

LADWP initially engaged EnerPath to install energy efficient lighting equipment in small businesses. Paying for these lighting upgrades costs roughly half as much as building new power plants. EnerPath was re-contracted to install low-flow toilets to help reduce water usage. To date, EnerPath, has improved over 27,000 small businesses in Los Angeles, which prevents building 18 MW of new power plant generation and saves 78 GigaWatt hours every year. These savings represent the energy needed to power more than 13,000 homes and generate over $10 million of cost savings for participating small businesses.

“These programs just make sense,” EnerPath founder and CEO Stephen Guthrie said.  “LADWP avoids building expensive new power plants, we create green jobs and LA’s small businesses get better quality lighting and save money.  That makes a big impact in these economic times.”  

EnerPath became a leader in delivering energy-efficiency services by simplifying a traditionally complicated process for small business owners. Their energy auditors use handheld smartphones to canvas a community and identify efficiency upgrades. This information instantly calculates the customer’s potential benefits and enrolls them into the program. Local contractors receive wireless project descriptions and are dispatched to implement the upgrades.  EnerPath’s enterprise software manages all transaction, rebates and program management.  Using this process, one energy auditor can identify upgrades in as many as 7 small businesses each day. 

EnerPath provides a comprehensive suite of energy efficiency solutions across North America. Last year, EnerPath delivered energy efficiency to over 6,000 homes in the city of Palm Desert. EnerPath’s clients have included some of the largest utilities in North America such as Ontario Power, Tennessee Valley Authority, Riverside Public Utilities and Southern California Edison.