The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) will provide up to $72.5 million dollars to help the nation's second largest school district save energy and water, while reducing their utility bills, under a renewed agreement that will continue through 2025.
The new agreement, approved by the Board of Water and Power Commissioners and the LAUSD Board of Education, will translate into energy and water efficiency retrofits throughout the school district and new water and energy savings technology to be installed at LAUSD school campuses, offices and facilities. The partnership is mutually beneficial as it will also help meet LADWP's aggressive energy efficiency and water conservation goals of achieving 100% renewable energy and reducing water use by 25% by 2035.
Under the agreement, LADWP will provide approximately $14.5 million a year to LAUSD over the next five years. The partnership is expected to help LAUSD conserve more than 100 million gallons of water on an ongoing basis, equivalent to enough water to serve more than 1,200 Los Angeles households annually; and almost 30 GWh of power upon completion of the five-year agreement, which is equivalent to enough electricity to power 5,400 homes each year.
"Los Angeles Unified remains committed to reducing our carbon footprint," former Los Angeles Unified Superintendent Austin Beutner said. "This partnership with LADWP supports our mission to be the most sustainable school district in the nation."
"It is not only our mission at LADWP to provide the city with reliable water and power service, but to do so in a cost-effective and environmentally responsible manner," says Martin L. Adams, General Manager & Chief Engineer at LADWP. "Part of that mission is partnering with institutions like LAUSD who serves as a model of what other large and small commercial customers can do to reduce consumption and realize savings from efficiency measures."
Over the next five years, the investment LADWP is making in LAUSD include:
- $12 million a year for energy-efficiency upgrades, including advanced LED lighting for schools, saving almost 6 GWh annually
- $1 million a year for incentives to install high-efficiency urinals and toilets in various LAUSD facilities, with over 20 million gallons saved per year
- $500,000 a year for education and awareness about energy efficiency and water conservation
- $1 million per year piloting new technologies, including air-conditioning and building operations controls; advanced water-use monitoring and controls; urban heat island mitigation measures; related training for LAUSD maintenance and operation staff and more.
The original agreement between LAUSD and LADWP ran from 2012 through 2014 and was renewed in 2015 to extend another five years. The activities conducted under the last two agreements over the last eight years resulted in annual energy savings of roughly 34 GWh, equivalent to enough power to serve some 6,000 homes and annual water savings of about 35 million gallons, equivalent to enough water to supply more than 400 homes. The new agreement will seek to expand on these initial efforts and take advantage of the many opportunities for energy and water savings at LAUSD facilities.
For more information about LADWP rebates and programs for commercial customers, visit ladwp.com/non-res.
