Northbrook Park District to Save Money and Help Environment through ComEd-supported Energy Efficiency Projects

ComEd program has now saved customers a total of $7 billion on their energy bills

NORTHBROOK, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ComEd and the Northbrook Park District announced progress on an eight-location energy efficiency effort that, when completed, has the potential to save the district more than $135,000 a year on its overall electricity bills, and qualify for more than $900,000 in incentives.

The effort is made possible by the ComEd Energy Efficiency Program, which recently reached an important milestone: Since 2008, the program has saved northern Illinois families and businesses approximately $7 billion on their electric bills. In May, the program also received the highest level of recognition from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) with an ENERGY STAR^® Partner of the Year—Sustained Excellence Award.

“I can't think of a better way to celebrate the achievement of $7 billion in customer savings than by recognizing the Northbrook Park District for their energy-saving efforts,” said Erica Borggren, vice president of customer solutions for ComEd. “Thanks to the ComEd Energy Efficiency Program, our customers have saved on average about $1,750 – that's enough to cover the cost of an average residential energy bill for 19 months.”

Since August 2019, the district has collaborated with ComEd and its authorized energy-efficiency service providers to replace light fixtures with new, reliable, resilient and energy-efficient LED fixtures at eight separate district locations. Once completed, the entire project could save the district nearly 3.8 gigawatt-hours of electricity a year, which is the amount of energy it takes to power nearly 450 ComEd customers’ homes. These savings have an environmental benefit equal to reducing more than 3.2 million pounds of carbon emissions from the atmosphere, planting nearly 1,800 acres of trees or removing more than 300 cars from the road.

The projects taking place at Northbrook Park District through the ComEd Energy Efficiency Program fit squarely into the district’s mission of environmental and financial stewardship. In addition to the current replacement projects at parks and facilities, the district has been the beneficiary of other energy efficiency grants from ComEd at Heritage Oaks Golf Club and Techny Prairie Activity Center (TPAC), a newly verified net zero energy facility with 833 solar panels on the roof and highly efficient mechanicals.

“The installation of these new fixtures at no cost to the district is a win-win providing long-term effects for both the organization and the community,” said Chris Leiner, director of parks and properties for the Northbrook Park District. “Along with lowered energy use and expenses over the coming years, maintenance costs will decrease as well. We are excited to have been approved for the current projects and look forward to continuing our partnership with ComEd.”

ComEd’s Efforts to Save Customers Money and Energy

The ComEd Energy Efficiency Program, which is funded in compliance with state law, is one of the largest programs in the nation offering residents, businesses and the public sector a variety of options that help them cut back on their energy use, which reduces energy bills and helps the environment.

In addition to saving customers $7 billion on their energy bills, the program helped customers save nearly 65 million megawatt-hours of electricity, which is enough energy to power more than 7.4 million ComEd customers’ homes for one year. The program has also helped reduce from the air nearly 55 billion pounds of carbon emissions that contribute to climate change, which is the equivalent of removing more than 5.4 million cars off the road for one year or planting more than 30 million acres of trees.

“In Illinois, energy efficiency is a key component to achieving climate targets while reducing household costs, decreasing emissions and improving indoor air quality and resiliency,” said Stacey Paradis, executive director of the Midwest Energy Efficiency Association. “It is great to see ComEd working with local governments to reduce energy bills which, in turn, saves their taxpayers money.”

For more information on how ComEd helps customers save money and energy, visit ComEd.com/HomeSavings for residential customers and ComEd.com/BizSavings for business customers.

About Northbrook Park District

Established in 1927, Northbrook Park District’s Mission is to enhance the community by providing outstanding services, parks and facilities through environmental, social and financial stewardship. For more information, visit nbparks.org.

About ComEd

ComEd is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation (NASDAQ: EXC), a Fortune 200 energy company with approximately 10 million electricity and natural gas customers – the largest number of customers in the U.S. ComEd powers the lives of more than 4 million customers across northern Illinois, or 70 percent of the state’s population. For more information visit ComEd.com and connect with the company on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.