Electric bills teach schools to save
A state program offers financial incentives to conserve energy
Public schools exceeding their electricity budget will have to pay the state Department of Education for half the amount they go over their limit.
In turn, under the energy-conservation program being launched next month, schools bringing down energy expenses will get a rebate worth half the savings.
The DOE in July will begin recording each school's electricity use for six months at a time. The total will be compared with an average taken from each school in the past three years to check whether they lowered or increased energy consumption, according to Randy Moore, assistant superintendent.
WHICH SCHOOLS USE THE MOST ENERGY
Public schools that use the most energy based on their averages of annual kilowatt hours:
1. Kapolei High -- 3,622,800
2. McKinley High -- 2,713,200
3. Keaau High -- 2,575,600
4. Mililani Middle -- 2,478,400
5. Farrington High -- 2,336,660
Source: State Department of Education
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Rebates or penalties will be issued twice a year, in January and in July. Energy-saving schools can use the extra money at their discretion, while others will need to divert money from programs to pay the overage.
The department decided to roll out the project next school year after testing it with 15 schools in the past six months.
The state spends $37 million each year to power 293 public schools.
Banning minirefrigerators in classrooms at Lahaina Intermediate School and reminding teachers to turn off lights could bring the campus $1,160 in extra money next month.
Lahaina was among 15 schools statewide that joined an energy-conservation program being expanded to nearly all public schools in the 2007-08 school year.
Only nine of 297 schools won't participate, either because they are charter schools that pay their electric bills directly or new schools that lack enough energy data.
At Lahaina Intermediate, energy use has been dropping since last summer, when teachers were told to get rid of their personal fridges, said Principal Marsha Nakamura.
"It was kind of ridiculous; they would have one or two things in it. I told them to share fridges," Nakamura said, adding the school now has about seven refrigerators where teachers can store food.
The idea for the energy program came from Act 96, which Gov. Linda Lingle signed last year. It called for state agencies to "lead by example" and counter rising costs of electricity by moving toward alternative fuel use and energy efficiency.
Officials launching the Department of Education's energy program looked at three years of data to calculate the average hourly kilowatt usage for each Hawaii public school.
Under the project, public schools exceeding their electricity budget will have to pay for half the amount they go over. Schools that bring down energy expenses will get a rebate worth half the savings.
Rebates or penalties will be issued every six months -- in January and in July.
Lahaina Intermediate has lowered its power consumption in each of the first four months of the year. If similar savings happen in May and June, the school could save $2,320, and get half of that amount to spend on the school.
"I'd use it for repair and maintenance, and to buy custodial supplies and equipment," Nakamura said.
Energy-saving schools can use the extra money for whatever they want, like buying books, paying for renovations or activities. Meanwhile, those fined will need to pull money from programs to pay the bill, said Randy Moore, assistant DOE superintendent.
"If they choose to use more electricity, they have the resources to pay for it," he said. "Obviously, they'll have less money for something else . . . but we think, actually, that very significant reductions are possible if the schools put their mind to it."
McKinley High School Principal Ann Sugibayashi praised the program, saying students and staff will eventually conserve energy at home and in the community. But she worried about whether her school, one of the top energy-spenders in the state, might need to cut back on the number of groups that use the campus after school or during weekends.
"It's very difficult to say how we can conserve other than shut down everything," she said, "and it wouldn't be a community-minded idea."
Moore said the three-year average taken from each school already includes energy use by outside groups and should not affect the program. He said schools would need to worry only if they add new activities or programs that rely on electricity.
"If they are doing something new, then we have to talk about it," he said.
