Media Contact: Karl Walquist (775) 834-3891 / mobile: (775) 771-3891

Heavenly Mountain Resort employees who live in California will be saving money and helping the environment with the new compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) they're receiving for free from Sierra Pacific Power Company.

The utility has provided the resort with 12,000 of the energy-saving, curlicue bulbs, which will be distributed to about 1,000 resort employees who live in Sierra Pacific's California service territory. Employees will each receive a dozen free bulbs so they can replace the less efficient incandescent bulbs they have at home. Light produced by one of the 13-watt bulbs is equivalent to the output of a 60-watt incandescent bulb. 

“This partnership with Sierra Pacific fits well into our overall environmental stewardship program, which is as progressive and comprehensive as you'll find in the ski industry,” said Blaise Carrig, Heavenly's chief operating officer. “This program enables our employees to save money on energy while they reduce their impact on the environment in which we live, work and play.”

The CFL distribution program, along with other energy efficiency programs, is an essential part of Sierra Pacific's effort to help electric customers in the utility's California and Nevada service area reduce their energy usage and exert more control over their monthly power bills, according to John Hargrove, the company's program manager for energy efficiency and conservation.  

Upgraded Snowmaking Equipment Saves Energy
Besides joining with the utility to help employees save energy, Heavenly reduced its own electricity use in 2007 by upgrading snowmaking equipment so that it operates more efficiently. The resort earned a $14,000 incentive payment from Sierra Pacific's Sure Bet energy efficiency program for investing in snowmaking upgrades that are expected to reduce energy usage by over 700,000 kilowatt hours per year.

During 2008, Heavenly plans to invest in 10 new high efficiency, automated snowmaking fan guns that will further reduce energy usage and qualify the resort for a Sure Bet incentive payment of approximately $45,500.  The new fan guns will provide better snow coverage while using much less energy.

Plans are also underway to retrofit the current lighting in Heavenly's California Lodge with energy efficient lighting.  The resort will earn an incentive of approximately $6,700 for that project.

In 2007, Sierra Pacific distributed more than 524,000 CFLs in northern Nevada and the Lake Tahoe area of California. Some were distributed for free and others were made available through utility-sponsored discounts at retailers. On an annual basis, the lights could reduce annual electricity usage in Sierra Pacific's service area by approximately 31.3 million kilowatt hours.

According toEnergy Star, a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy to encourage energy efficiency, CFLs use about 75 percent less energy than standard incandescent bulbs and last up to 10 times longer.
     
CFLs are available for discounted prices at participating TrueValue and Ace Hardware stores, including the Ace Hardware in Incline Village at 910 Tahoe Boulevard and at the following retail outlets in the Reno-Sparks-Carson City area:  Costco, The Home Depot, Lowe's, Scolari's, WalMart,  Sam's Club, Big  Lots and Dollar Tree.Amazon.comalso sells the lights for discounted prices.

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