Cambridge, NY - May 20, 2014 – The lights just got brighter and more efficient at Cambridge Central School District with the assistance of a grant from National Grid. The local utility and MCW Custom Energy Solutions LLC of Saratoga Springs have completed an energy efficiency project. With the assistance of a $57,720 grant from National Grid, the school district was able to offset improvement costs and save more than 357,000 kilowatt hours of energy (kWh) per year and $46,075 in annual energy costs.

“Being able to support an energy efficiency project like this at Cambridge Central School District is a perfect example of how much energy and energy cost can be saved by undergoing an audit like this,” said Bill Flaherty, National Grid Director of Community and Customer Management for Eastern New York. “Our programs for businesses target usage and focus on technological improvements that can help them save on their energy costs. Working with Cambridge Central School District, this grant allows the school to invest resources that have been saved by these efficiencies to be passed on to other conservation and efficiency projects for future generations of students.”

Cambridge Central School District has a rigorous environmental and conservation program. The school district’s Energy Sustainable Committee, made up of teachers, administrators, students and community members is led by Steve Butz, the Environmental Studies AP teacher. For the past ten years, the committee has created a successful recycling campaign, replaced windows, entered into an Energy Performance Contract (and fulfilled a number of elements, including smaller boilers for shoulder seasons, LEDs, light sensors and programmable thermostats), launched a water filling station campaign (along with a sales drive of reusable BPA-free water bottles) and is pursuing the installation of a solar field.

The energy efficiency project at Cambridge Central School District included lighting system upgrades including new lighting in gymnasiums and exterior LEDs, comprehensive lighting controls and building control upgrades. These were in addition to HVAC upgrades, window replacements, building envelope weatherization and domestic water conservation elements. This project was made possible by National Grid’s energy efficiency initiative that provides incentives of up to 50 percent for qualified energy-efficiency improvements at customer’s facilities.

For the Cambridge Central School District lighting project, National Grid contracted with MCW Custom Energy Solutions who conducted an energy audit of the facility and made one-stop arrangements to complete the installation of recommended improvements.

“The Energy Performance Contract at Cambridge Central School is a perfect example of how School Districts can leverage energy savings to upgrade aging infrastructure and reduce operating costs,” said Timothy Casabonne, Senior Project Manager for MCW Custom Energy Solutions LLC.

This initiative from National Grid is part of the company’s large and expanding portfolio of programs designed to help businesses manage their energy costs and take advantage of new technologies in energy efficiency. Since its inception in 2009, the current slate of small business, commercial & industrial electric energy efficiency programs has helped business customers in upstate New York save more than 677 million kilowatt hours of electricity which is equivalent to about the amount of energy used by 100,000 homes in one year.

For more information about the program call National Grid at 800-787-1706 or visit http://www.nationalgridus.com/MyEnergyEfficiencyServices .

About National Grid

National Grid (LSE: NG; NYSE:NGG) is an electricity and gas company that connects consumers to energy sources through its networks. The company is at the heart of one of the greatest challenges facing our society - to create new, sustainable energy solutions for the future and developing an energy system that underpins economic prosperity in the 21st century. National Grid holds a vital position at the center of the energy system and it ‘joins everything up’.

In the northeast US, we connect more than seven million gas and electric customers to vital energy sources, essential for our modern lifestyles. In Great Britain, we run the gas and electricity systems that our society is built on, delivering gas and electricity across the country. 

National Grid delivers electricity to approximately 3.3 million customers in Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island. It is the largest distributor of natural gas in northeastern U.S., serving approximately 3.4 million customers in New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

For more information please visit our website: www.nationalgridus.com

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About MCW Custom Energy Solutions LLC

MCW Custom Energy Solutions LLC located in Saratoga Springs, New York is part of the MCW Group of Companies that also includes MCW Custom Energy Solutions Ltd., currently one of the largest independent Energy Service Companies in North America. Our Saratoga Springs, NY office is staffed with personnel that have extensive experience performing Investment Grade Energy Audits and implementing comprehensive Energy Performance Contracts throughout New York State and the northeast United States.

As an Energy Service Company (ESCo), MCW Custom Energy Solutions is dedicated to the development of unique client based, non-proprietary Energy Conservation and Energy Performance projects. Our philosophy is to provide our clients with the most comprehensive energy conservation possibilities and develop the most appropriate project to meet their overall goals. Whether it is maximizing capital development or generating annual cash flow, our open book, non-vendor specific philosophy has been a very popular approach. For more information, visit http://www.mcw.com/us/