The City of Lawton will be awarded an incentive check for more than $54,000 from Public Service Company of Oklahoma’s (PSO) Model Cities Program for incorporating energy efficient LED traffic signals across the city, and for LED exit signs and lighting improvements in city buildings.  The Model Cities program is offered by PSO to cities to help improve energy efficiency and reduce operating costs.  The check will be presented at the Lawton City Council meeting on February 10.
           
“The incentive from PSO helps encourage investment in energy efficiency,” said Keith Catron, PSO’s customer services account manager.  “It’s an important step that Lawton is taking to set a positive example by reducing energy use.”
 
The Model Cities program offers financial incentives for energy efficient LED technology when implemented in exit signs, traffic signals or crosswalks, or for other approved applications. Incentives are determined by the total amount of energy saved.  The high-efficiency equipment installed by Lawton will save more than 1.2 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year compared to standard incandescent light fixtures.  That is equivalent to saving the carbon dioxide emissions of more than 98,000 gallons of gasoline, according to Environmental Protection Agency calculations.
 
“We identified a real need for an energy efficiency program that specifically targets cities, especially as city budgets are spread thin,” said Catron.  “This program is an organized effort to bring needed resources and energy efficiency to Oklahoma cities. By partnering with the City to reduce energy costs, the valuable resources saved can be used for other needed projects.”
 
The Model Cities program is one of several Demand Side Management/Energy Efficiency programs implemented by PSO in 2008 to help customers use electricity more efficiently and to slow the annual rate of growth in customer energy usage.  The package of programs includes offerings for all customer classes and will remain in place through 2009.
 
PSO, a unit of American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP), is an electric utility company serving approximately 525,000 customers in eastern and southwestern Oklahoma.  Based in Tulsa, PSO has 4,400 megawatts of generating capacity, and is the largest distributor of wind energy in the state.