Make it
Electric Energy information to help you manage your operation • September 2012
Efficiency that pays Lueken’s Village Foods capitalizes on lighting and refrigeration efficiency programs Brent Sicard began sweeping floors at Lueken’s Village Foods in 1997. Today Sicard is the store’s award-winning director, largely for his energyand cost-saving efforts. “When I took over as store director in 2006, everyone in the grocery industry was focused on gross profit, sales, and labor,” said Sicard. “When it came to energy costs, my industry seemed to shrug its shoulders and say, ‘It is what it is.’ I looked at it and said, ‘This is a large portion of our spending. How can we do it more efficiently?’” Lueken’s Village Foods has used Otter Tail Power Company’s Conservation Improvement Program (CIP) to complete 12 energyefficiency projects in the last two years at its two Bemidji, Minnesota, locations. As a result, the company has reduced its total energy consumption by more than 751,500 kilowatt-hours (kwh) and saved approximately $50,000 a year in energy costs. Lueken’s also has qualified for $80,000 in CIP rebates. As a result of Sicard’s mindset and the efficiency and savings he’s achieved, the Minnesota Grocers Association has named him 2012 Store Manager of the Year in its small chain category. Continued . . .
Have an energy-efficiency idea for your business? If you have an idea for an energy-efficiency project, be sure to contact your Otter Tail Power Company energy management representative listed on the back of this newsletter.