FINDING INCOME WHILE REDUCING RELIANCE ON TRADITIONAL SOURCES

Westchester County has received a $361,529.73 check from NuEnergen LLC for the county’s enrollment in three summer Demand Response programs – bringing the total money earned by the county through this program to $1.5M.
Westchester County Executive George Latimer said, “This program is a win-win for Westchester residents. It provides revenue through creative solutions to help generate found income while also reducing the county’s reliance on traditional energy solutions – which is good for our region in the long term. This is just one example of the inventive fixes my administration has initiated to help us move Westchester forward – by not only working to save our planet but also by finding revenue streams to relieve the burden on taxpayers that did not exist prior to my taking office.”
Westchester County works with NuEnergen to provide the county with a Demand Response program that earns the county income as well as providing an opportunity to further enhance its sustainability efforts. Demand Response is an electricity grid and utility-run series of programs that offer financial incentives to owners of facilities. It also eliminates or minimizes the need to build expensive infrastructure or fire up dormant dirty fossil fuel burning “peaker plants.”
In the program, the county remains on “stand-by”to lower energy usage during times of great stress – like days with sweltering heat. On these “high-stress” days, the county is alerted of a “demand response” event beginning and reduces energy usage at some of its facilities – i.e. power down the building and take them off the electric grid. Only a few short hours later, the event would end, and normal operations would resume. The more kW load – or the number of buildings – that are enrolled in the program, the higher the earning for the county.
Latimer added: “We owe a debt of gratitude to Peter McCartt, (Westchester County director of Energy Conservation and Sustainability) who brought the idea of Demand Response to the county. It is one more example of the creativity of individuals who work within the county and when given encouragement and support, help us achieve greatly.”
McCartt said, “It is on us in government to find ways to enhance our sustainability efforts for the good of, not just our county, but the region and planet. This is just one of the many ideas we have initiated, and the opportunity for increased revenue makes entering into a ‘demand response’ program a no-brainer.”
NuEnergen President and CEO Kevin Hamilton said, “The County of Westchester has been forward leaning and proactive through its Demand Response Program participation initiative – much to the benefit of county taxpayers and the region….”