Wilburton Public Schools has received an incentive check for $2,311.51 from Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO) for participation in PSO’s 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 amount of the incentive is determined by the total amount of energy that will be saved through those improvements.

Wilburton Public Schools earned its incentive for the installation of energy efficient lighting in the new gymnasium at Wilburton High School. The new lighting will conserve an estimated 18,888 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year.

"The Smart Schools program helped us identify ways we can conserve energy and save money," said Wilburton Public Schools Superintendent Charles Enis. "We now have new lighting that is high quality and efficient, which will save money that can be reinvested directly back into our schools."

"We identified a real need for an energy efficiency program that specifically targets schools, especially as budgets are spread thin," said Pamela Sanders, Customer Services representative for PSO. "By partnering with Wilburton Public Schools to reduce energy costs, their valuable resources can be used for other needed projects."

PSO, a unit of American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP), is an electric utility company serving more than 530,000 customers in eastern and southwestern Oklahoma. With headquarters in Tulsa, PSO has

4,321 megawatts of generating capacity and provides electricity to 230 cities and towns across a service area encompassing 30,000 square miles. News releases and other information about PSO can be found on the World Wide Web at PSOklahoma.com.