HUNTINGTON BEACH : City Adopts Energy Conservation Plan

Thanks to a little-known state assistance program, the city government is adopting a plan to conserve energy and thereby save about $280,000 a year.

The plan involves the city’s borrowing $1.2 million from the California Energy Commission and then repaying it over six years through savings from decreased electrical, heat and cooling expenses in city buildings.

The loan from the state agency will be used by the city to put energy-saving equipment and devices into City Hall and the main public library. No major construction is involved.

This project will produce an annual savings of $279,414 a year in energy costs, said Louis F. Sandoval, the city’s director of public works, in a report to the council. Sandoval’s report noted that the projected annual savings will retire the $1.2-million loan from the California Energy Commission.

The state commission uses a $14-million revolving fund to grant loans to cities and counties that agree to energy conservation plans. Although the commission’s “Energy Partnership Program” is 4 years old, many communities are still unfamiliar with it.

Huntington Beach learned of the program last year when Councilman Peter M. Green attended a convention of cities’ representatives in San Diego. Green brought back details of the state program, and the city staff contacted the Energy Commission.

The commission then paid for a professional analysis of Huntington Beach’s use of energy in its two largest public buildings. That analysis showed that changes to more modern equipment could save the city $279,414 a year.

The analysis said the total cost to the city of making energy-saving changes would be $1,171,575. The state commission then offered to loan the city that amount for six years at an interest rate of 6.1%.

“Huntington Beach will repay the loan from the money it saves, and after that, the savings continue year after year,” said Daryl Mills, the manager of the state’s Energy Partnership Program. “This program also will help the city cut down on pollution through less use of energy.”

By unanimous vote, the City Council earlier this month approved the energy-saving program.