Waukegan Public Schools, ComEd Complete Projects to Reduce Energy Use, Save Money and Improve the Environment

ComEd and the Waukegan Public Schools (WPS) today celebrated the completion of a five-year, 51-project energy-efficiency effort that is estimated to save WPS more than $609,000 a year on its overall electric bills.

The effort is part of the ComEd Energy Efficiency Program which, since 2008, has saved northern Illinois families and businesses approximately $6.7 billion on their electric bills. The program recently received the highest level of recognition from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Energy with an ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year—Sustained Excellence Award.

“We believe everyone has an equal right to clean air and affordable energy, which is why we are proud to offer energy efficiency programs to help customers save energy and money, while helping to mitigate the impacts of climate change,” said Melissa Washington, senior vice president of customer operations for ComEd. “ComEd is honored to be part of such a massive undertaking with the Waukegan Public Schools to enhance the environment by improving lighting in classrooms, halls, gymnasiums, parking lots and other areas accessed by students, staff and the community.”

Since December 2017, WPS has collaborated with ComEd and its authorized energy-efficiency service providers to install energy-efficient lighting fixtures and bulbs, surge-protected outlets and smart strips, refrigeration and kitchen parts and equipment, fire exit signs, air-conditioner components and other energy-saving measures at multiple school buildings. WPS received approximately $1.8 million in incentives through the ComEd Energy Efficiency Program.

The combined energy savings of all 51 projects is estimated to be more than 6 million kilowatt-hours, the amount of energy it takes to power more than 700 ComEd customers’ homes. These savings have an environmental benefit equal to reducing more than 6.4 million pounds of carbon emissions from the atmosphere or removing nearly 650 cars from the road.

In recent years, Waukegan Public Schools, also known as Waukegan Community Unit School District #60, has used incentives offered by utilities to improve the district's energy efficiency. This year alone, the district switched from fluorescent lighting to LED lighting in 26 school buildings. District staff also worked with ComEd-recommended engineers to study building automation systems and implement recommended changes to improve efficiency. Most recently, the district worked with ComEd to install smart power strips that cut down on residual draws of electricity from idling computer screens and printers.