Sand Springs School District will be awarded an incentive check for $11,848 from Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO) for its participation in the Smart Schools Program.
 
Smart Schools is offered by PSO to help school districts reduce operating costs by identifying and implementing energy efficiency improvement projects.
 
The district earned the incentive by replacing existing air conditioning units with new, high-efficiency units at Charles Page High School, Pratt Elementary School, Limestone Elementary School, Central Elementary School, Ed Dubie Field House, and Central 9th Grade Center. In addition, it incorporated energy efficient lighting and air conditioning systems into the recently completed Sand Springs Early Childhood Education Center.
The incentive the district received was determined by the total amount of energy the new equipment will save.
 
"The incentive from PSO certainly validates our investment in energy efficiency," Sand Springs Superintendent Lloyd Snow said. "It’s also important that our school district sets a positive example for our students and our community, and reducing our energy use is a good way to help do that."
 
The air conditioning and lighting systems installed will conserve about 89,200 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, equivalent to the carbon dioxide emissions of more than 7,200 gallons of gasoline, according to Environmental Protection Agency calculations.
 
"We identified a real need for an energy efficiency program that specifically targets schools, especially as budgets are spread thin," said Tye Hardy, customer service representative for PSO. "By partnering with Sand Springs Public Schools to reduce energy costs, their valuable resources can be used for other needed projects."
 
"The Smart Schools Program helped us identify ways we can conserve energy and save money," said Snow. "That money can be reinvested directly into our classrooms, and by conserving energy we are stetting a positive example for our students."
 
PSO, a unit of American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP), is an electric utility company serving approximately 533,000 customers in eastern and southwestern Oklahoma. Based in Tulsa, PSO has 4,405 megawatts of generating capacity, and is the largest provider of wind energy in the state. News releases and other information about PSO can be found on the World Wide Web at PSOklahoma.com