Getting schooled on rebates by Gunnison County Electric Association

The Lake City Community School in southwest Colorado contacted their power provider Gunnison County Electric Association (GCEA) about rebates to upgrade their building lights to more efficient LEDs. As a co-op member, they worked with an Energy Use Specialist to move forward with the free audit process.

While conducting energy audits at other businesses in Lake City, Kirk McKnight of Cooperative Lighting Business Partners (CLBP) and Gary Myers from Tri-State Generation & Transmission stopped by the school and met with Superintendent Dr. Leslie Nichols. The school had received an estimate for a lighting upgrade but could not justify the price tag of $160,000.

Dr. Nichols worked with CLBP to buy materials directly and install them at a significantly lower price closer to $25,500. On top of the six-figure installation savings, Lake City Community School also received a rebate of over $3,500. The Superintendent highlights several success factors resulting from this partnership between the school, CLBP, GCEA and Tri-State: the ease of using the rebate program, McKnight’s patience throughout the installation process as orders changed, quality of the fixtures, a reduction in energy use, affordability and the rebate that Lake City Community School ultimately received.

This program in particular highlights what can be accomplished when businesses and utilities work in the cooperative spirit to help members achieve their energy efficiency goals and realize otherwise unaffordable infrastructure upgrades. If you’re a business owner in the LPEA service area with questions about rebates for improvements to energy efficiency, contact Energy Use Specialist Alantha Garrison at 970-641-3520.