PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact Drake N. Rice, Director of Member Services, 405/340-5047
Jefferson Park Apartments Receives DEEP Rebate Check For $10,952.42
On October 26th, Blackwell Mayor J. Mark Cordell and Drake N. Rice, Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority (OMPA) Director of Member Services, presented a rebate check from OMPA’s Demand and Energy Efficiency Program (DEEP) for the installation of energy efficient air-to-air heat pumps in the Jefferson Park Apartments, 1012 South 10th Street, to Jim Rice, General Partner of Arzon Development Company in Stillwater. The amount of the rebate check was $10,952.42. Also attending the check presentation was Mark Skiles, Blackwell City Manager and OMPA Board Member, and Tom Willis, OMPA Member Services Energy Engineer.
The Arzon company totally renovated the 60 apartments and installed energy efficient improvements, including the air-to-air heat pumps, which qualified them for the DEEP award. Jefferson Park Apartments is the first commercial/industrial business in Blackwell to receive a DEEP rebate check.
“This project demonstrates the commitment by the City of Blackwell to assume the leadership role of being good stewards to the environment and for Jefferson Park Apartments to actively promote energy efficiency,” said Rice.
According to Willis, “These improvements to the units reduced the energy demand by an estimated109 kW and reduced the summer electric energy usage by more than 125,000 kWh.”
DEEP assists OMPA’s 39 member cities with their qualified customers to reduce their electric service energy demands and costs. This program provides rebates to commercial and industrial customers that implement retrofits that reduce their demand at peak times. These projects include lighting, HVAC, refrigeration, commercial food service equipment, pumps and motors.
“The reduction of these demands help keep energy rates as low as possible for our member cities and delays the need to add additional OMPA generation capacity to the system. This allows them, the member cities, to hold the line on the electric rates that are charged to their customers. It is a win-win situation for our cities and their electric customers,” added Willis.
The funds available for approved projects will be determined by the OMPA Board of Directors. Funds available for an individual project will be determined through submission of detailed project plans. For more information on DEEP, visit the OMPA website at www.ompa.com or contact Willis at twillis@ompa.com.
OMPA is a state governmental agency created by the legislature to serve cities and towns that own and operate their electrical distribution systems and is governed by the members. The Authority presently serves 39 municipally-owned electric systems in Oklahoma. This year marks a milestone for the consumer-owned public power entity – its 30th anniversary.
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