TOPEKA, KS -- 10/15/09 --
Westar Energy, Inc. and Colwich, Kan., will
celebrate the results of the Colwich Switch on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009,
from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Colwich City Park. If it rains, the event will be
at Colwich Grade School, 401 S. Marion, Colwich.
Colwich residents reduced their energy use from September 2008 to August
2009 by about 1.7 percent compared with the prior year. Nationally,
electricity use is expected to increase about 1 percent per year, according
to the Energy Information Administration, a federal agency.
"Colwich residents achieved electricity savings averaging about 200
kilowatt hours per household over the year, which is like turning a
television off in each home for a year," said Bill Moore, Westar Energy
chief executive officer. "The people of Colwich have demonstrated that by
working together we can use electricity more efficiently. This challenge
was a success for everyone."
Moore added that such energy efficiency efforts on a collective basis can
assist Westar Energy in delaying the need for a new peaking power plant.
The Colwich Switch celebration will feature remarks from state Sen. Dick
Kelsey, Colwich Mayor Terry Spexarth and Westar Energy's Moore. In
addition, lunch will be provided and inflatables will be set up for
children.
To ensure the validity of the Colwich Switch results, Westar Energy also
looked at the energy use of a similar community where residents did not
receive reports. Usage in the comparison community increased nearly 3
percent compared with the prior year.
The Colwich Switch began Aug. 16, 2008, when Colwich residents joined then
Lt. Gov. Mark Parkinson, Colwich Mayor Terry Spexarth and Westar Energy
representatives in the Colwich City Park for a kick-off celebration.
Afterward, Westar Energy and Colwich volunteers delivered a bag of six
compact-fluorescent light bulbs to Colwich homes, for a total of about
2,700 energy-saving bulbs that residents were encouraged to install right
away.
Over the past year, Westar Energy periodically provided energy efficiency
information to residents of Colwich, including quarterly reports comparing
their household's and the town's electricity use with the same period a
year earlier.
Westar Energy compared the electricity consumed by about 420 residential
electrical accounts in Colwich. Westar serves about 500 residences in the
town, but homes where service was changed to a new customer during the
yearlong challenge were excluded. Energy use in Colwich and the town used
for comparison was adjusted for changes in weather between the time period
of the Colwich Switch and the prior year. Without considering the cooler
temperatures during the Colwich Switch, electricity consumption dropped 4.7
percent in Colwich compared with only 0.1 percent in the town selected for
statistical validation.
Through its EfficiencyWorks division, Westar offers programs to help its
customers save money on energy bills. For more information, visit
www.westarenergy.com.
Day of event media contact: Laura Lutz, 785.213.6511.
Westar Energy, Inc. (NYSE: WR) is the largest electric utility in Kansas,
providing electric service to about 681,000 customers in the state. Westar
Energy has about 6,800 megawatts of electric generation capacity and
operates and coordinates more than 35,000 miles of electric distribution
and transmission lines.
For more information about Westar Energy, visit us on the Internet at
http://www.WestarEnergy.com.
