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Vermont Energy Investment Corporation to Create “Efficiency Smart Power Plant” for AMP Members in Six States

Published on: 06/21/2010

128 Municipal Power Systems in Six States Eligible to Participate in Savings

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June 14, 2010; Burlington, VT/Columbus, OH – The Vermont Energy Investment Corporation (VEIC) and American Municipal Power, Inc. (AMP) have signed a contract for VEIC to provide a wide range of energy-efficiency and implementation services for the municipal electric utility members of the Columbus, Ohio-based nonprofit wholesale power supplier. AMP’s 128 publicly-owned municipal electric system members serve more than 570,000 customers in six states – Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Virginia, Kentucky and West Virginia.

The goal of the new venture, known as the “Efficiency Smart Power Plant,” is to encourage residential, business and industrial customers to adopt cost-effective energy efficiency services that provide reliable and verifiable cost savings. In addition to lowering customers’ energy bills through efficiency, the Efficiency Smart Power Plant will stimulate local economies, create green jobs, provide technical resources for AMP’s member utilities and establish a platform for sustainable growth.

“VEIC is thrilled to work with AMP members to build the Efficiency Smart Power Plant of the future,” said Scott Johnstone, president of VEIC. “This project draws on our 25 years of energy-efficiency work around the country and around the globe, particularly leveraging the business model we’ve implemented through a decade of savings with the Efficiency Vermont contract.”

The name “Efficiency Smart Power Plant” was selected because AMP members will be investing in a new way to address their electric supply needs, by purchasing comprehensive energy efficiency technologies and technical support so that the members can realize continued savings over time. The benefits of the “Efficiency Smart Power Plant” include lower retail energy bills delivered at a price cheaper than building a new power supply, lower risk in volatile energy markets, and lower carbon emissions.

The 3-year contract between VEIC and AMP, valued at approximately $21 million, has the potential to cumulatively save 70,000 MWh of participating member utilities energy needs by the end of the contract. All savings will be independently verified and guaranteed – if the goals are not met, municipalities will be refunded for the savings not delivered.

“We wanted to work with a national leader in energy efficiency like VEIC because of its proven track record of saving energy and money for its customers,” said AMP President/CEO Marc Gerken. “We’re looking forward to partnering with a nonprofit, energy-efficiency organization that looks for solutions that benefit the entire community. Every megawatt of energy saved, is a megawatt that doesn’t have to be generated or transmitted making this program an important component of AMP’s power supply strategy.”

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