On Thu., July 15th the Village and 9 other Illinois communities were recognized for their participation in the 2009 Commonwealth Edison Community Energy Challenge (CEC). The goal of the challenge competition was for each community to devise and execute a strategy for reducing overall electrical energy use across all sectors of the community to include schools, industries, large commercial
retailers, small hard to reach businesses
hotels, other government agencies
as well as individual
homeowners and apartment communities. The competition began on June 1, 2009 and ended on May 31, 2010.

The Village was given special recognition for its program
accomplishments that included the following:

* Linked 363 apartment units to the All-Electric Multi-Family program incentives;

* Partnered with a ComEd Trade Ally to successfully deliver commercial and industrial energy savings to several local businesses;

* Installed energy efficient lighting in all municipal buildings and facilities;

* Distributed 2,600 CFL bulbs to local residents and hard-to-reach businesses;

 

All told, the Village with the support of its network of energy partners facilitated the reduction of 1.2 million kilowatt hours of electricity during the 12-month competition which reduced annual CO2 emissions equivalent to removing 165 passenger cars from local roads, reducing 90,000 of gasoline consumption and heating 105 residential homes for a year.