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Honorable Mentions - Small City <br /> <br />Alameda Mayor Trish Herrera Spencer <br /> <br />Reducing Greenhouse Gases with LEDs <br /> <br />Alameda Municipal Power (AMP), a department of the City of <br />Alameda, achieved greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions through <br />an LED program with the following two elements: An LED <br />promotion, known as "The Great Light Bulb Change Out;" and <br />an "LED Mania!" rebate, which offered discounted pricing for <br />the bulbs. <br /> <br />Residential electricity use in Alameda is approximately 5 percent <br />of citywide GHG emissions, or a quarter of the total GHG <br />emissions associated with electricity usage. Encouraging <br />residential customers to use LEDs helped Alameda lower GHGs, <br />which is in line with the goals of the city's Local Action Plan for <br />Climate Protection. <br /> <br />The key challenges were raising awareness of the program to <br />residents and ensuring that they obtained the LEDs. We overcame <br />the challenges posed by Alameda's small media market by <br />choosing direct mail as our distribution channel. The city directed <br />its vendor to distribute 60,000 LED bulbs to every residential <br />address in Alameda via the U.S. Postal Service. Though direct <br />mail, the city also educated residents that their municipal utility <br />provides programs that can help them and their community. <br /> <br />LEDs use less electricity than incandescent and compact <br />fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs. When 30,000 households replace <br />two incandescents, more than 3 million kWh are saved. <br /> <br />Lowering electricity use reduces GHG from energy generation. <br />AMP estimated that this program cut GHG emissions by over <br />1,300 metric tons (3,109 MWh at 0.434 kg/kWh carbon content) <br />annually, reducing the amount of power AMP purchases from <br />the market to meet its peak demand. <br /> <br />"The Great Light Bulb Change Out" was a creative approach to <br />residential energy efficiency not only because the project delivered <br />LEDs to every household, but because the giveaway was <br />immediately followed by an LED rebate. Utilities across the <br />country have mailed out CFLs; however, the city was among the <br />first to send free LEDs, followed by a generous rebate for the <br />purchase of more LEDs. <br /> <br />When contacted over a year later, 90 percent of the residents <br />surveyed by AMP remembered "The Great Lightbulb Change <br />Out." Of the residents surveyed, 15 percent went beyond the <br />free LEDs and purchased additional LEDs for their home. LED <br />Mania! resulted in more than 500 rebate applications in four <br />months. In the past, AMP received 10 LED applications per year. <br /> <br />The program was funded entirely by renewable energy credits. <br />California's Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) required electric <br />utilities to purchase a growing percentage of their electricity <br />from qualified renewable resources by 2020. Because AMP's <br />renewable portfolio exceeded the RPS, it sold some of its excess <br />renewables in 2013 and 2014 to other utilities struggling to achieve <br />compliance. <br /> <br />The resulting revenue was restricted by AMP's Public Utilities <br />Board only to fund projects that reduce GHG emissions <br />associated with electric services in the city. <br /> <br />The program benefited our community's quality of life by <br />educating residents and empowering them to reduce GHG <br />emissions. Investment in LEDs also helped reduce AMP's <br />wintertime peak load, reduced the cost of supplied power, and <br />reduced GHG emissions. AMP is confident that the program <br />helped Alameda move toward a greener tomorrow. <br />