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Facing higher energy costs, city pulls belt even tighter
By Oakley Brooks
Recent changes in the city's electricity supplier are expected to raise costs of electricity as much as 50 percent over the next fiscal year, so the city is adopting systemic changes to cut down on the kilowatts flowing into city hall.
In early May, the Association of Bay Area Governments power board announced it was ending its program of supplying cheap electricity from the wholesale market. As a result, Saratoga, along with some 30 other ABAG power clients, will be sent back to PG&E for electricity.
Although ABAG had already anticipated increased costs for its clients over the coming year, the organization anticipates that cities will face further increases throughout the coming year under PG&E: Saratoga has budgeted an extra $26,000 for electricity in the fiscal year that began July 1.
The expected costs have driven significant changes at city hall. City officials have converted many office lights to high-pressure sodium or florescent bulbs. Over the next several weeks, the city will also outfit the Civic Theatre with energy efficient bulbs in lights used in dramatic productions.
During the coming fiscal year, the city will install motion sensors and timers for lights, heating systems and air conditioning units in occasionally used spaces such as bathrooms and closets.
"We know conservation's going to be a long-term issue," said City Manager Dave Anderson. "So you start to institutionalize it."
This is the second major energy savings push the city has made this year.
In mid-January, during the flurry of Stage Three power alerts, the League of California Cities committed to reducing all member cities' energy use by 5 percent.
Saratoga employed stop-gap measures such as lowering the heat at city hall and limiting the use of decorative lighting outside the hall. In March, the city approved the installation of efficient light-emitting diode bulbs in Saratoga traffic signals.
City officials are confident they've already met the target savings set by the League of California Cities, though they do not have exact figures on how much energy use has fallen at city hall over the last six months.
Recreation Director Joan Pisani, who is overseeing the city's conservation program, says a PG&E representative will be coming to review city facilities later in the summer to determine if the city can make further cuts in energy consumption.
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Saratoga, California Since 1955
