ups an� �owns Customer Education and Outreach In the Community From hurricane preparedness to input on transmission line projects, OUC was committed to keeping customers informed through neighborhood outreach. OUC worked with St. Cloud and the community to determine the route of a new transmission line and the location of a new substation — holding several public meetings to speak with residents and invite their input. To determine the preferred route, engineers looked at 74 different transmission line segments and 96 alternative route combinations.
Hurricane Preparedness and Conservation Following the record-breaking hurricane season of 2004, OUC held 18 community meetings to discuss hurricane preparation and response for the 2005 storm season. The utility continued those meetings in 2006 and 2007. In early 2010, faced with a worsening economy and a rising number of calls from customers who were having difficulty paying their utility bills, OUC
consumption and, in turn, their utility bills. Billing options and payment assistance also were featured. Later that same year, OUC partnered with the City of Orlando for the Green Neighborhood Program, which would deliver efficiency upgrades to more than 1,000 inefficient homes throughout Orlando.
In the Classroom Throughout its history, OUC has talk to students about electrical safety,
Project AWESOME
conservation, hurricane preparedness
In 2009, OUC partnered with the
often gone into local classrooms to
and careers in utilities. In 2006, OUC
Orlando Science Center to develop
renewed its outreach in the schools,
a program to educate all fifth grade
focusing on Central Florida’s diminishing
students in OUC’s electric and water
water resources. OUC partnered with
service territories in Orange and Osceola
Orange County Utilities and arts teachers
counties about water conservation,
in Orange County Public Schools to
energy efficiency and alternative energy
involve students in the annual Water Color Project,
resources. Project AWESOME (Alternative
a regional art contest that challenged high school
Water & Energy Supply, Observation,
students to use conservation themes to decorate
Methods & Education) was designed to
rain barrels. Meanwhile, fifth graders submitted
encourage good habits at an early age
water conservation drawings for a chance to be
utilizing hands-on water and energy
featured in the annual Water Color Project calendar.
activities. The curriculum met Sunshine State Standards and reached about 6,000
hosted a series of “Reliably Green” community
fifth graders each year.
meetings to inform customers about conservation tips and rebate programs that could reduce their
Lighting Retrofit Program Since 2003, OUC has provided its Lighting
Retrofit Program for commercial customers — retrofitting indoor lighting systems with more
By 2010, OUC’s indoor lighting partnership
with Orange County Public Schools had installed energy-saving fixtures at 30 schools for an
ups an� �owns
energy-efficient, cost-effective ones for projected energy savings of 65-70 percent.
In return for the new lights, customers pay off
the equipment by reimbursing OUC with the money they save on their electric bills. The
payback period was typically three to four years.
Page 56
annual energy savings of 2.2 MWs and more than
$900,000 in energy costs. At participating schools, OUC replaced old lighting fixtures with more
energy-efficient retrofits. The schools benefitted immediately as the up-front costs were spread over multiple billing periods. Best of all, the
charges were balanced out by lower power bills.