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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Barb McIlvaine Smith |
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McIlvaine Smith announces local business
receiving state grant to become more energy efficient
WEST CHESTER, Oct. 17 – State Rep. Barb McIlvaine Smith, a supporter of efforts to cut energy use in Pennsylvania, is pleased to announce that Curdo's Automotive in Chester County is receiving a Small Business Advantage Grant to help it become more energy efficient.
Curdo's Automotive will use its $5,437 grant to purchase and install a waste oil heater and furnace to conserve energy through the use of alternative fuels.
"With electric rate caps due to expire and energy costs on the rise, I am pleased a local business is receiving this grant to allow it to become more energy independent," said McIlvaine Smith, D-Chester.
The Small Business Advantage Grant Program provides a 50 percent matching grant of up to $7,500 to encourage the implementation of equipment or processes to reduce energy consumption and pollution while helping to increase profitability for small businesses. The program is open to for-profit small business enterprises located in Pennsylvania. For more information about the grant program, visit www.depweb.state.pa.us.
In addition, this week Gov. Rendell signed Act 29 (formerly H.B. 2200), which McIlvaine Smith co-sponsored, that will give consumers the tools they need to lower their electric bills.
Act 29 makes smart meters available to consumers, and gives them three choices of how to be billed for their electricity:
· Traditional average rate plan where the consumer pays the same cost regardless of when energy is used;
· Peak and off-peak rate plan where customers are charged depending on what time of day they use energy;
· Real-time pricing which passes the actual cost of energy every hour to the consumer so they can benefit by consuming in the hours when costs are lowest.
It requires "least cost" purchasing by utilities so customers don't foot the bill for bad energy-purchasing decisions by utilities and requires utilities to work with customers to cut energy use by 1 percent by 2011 and 3 percent by 2013.
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