Small businesses throughout New York City and Westchester County are taking advantage of a Con Edison energy-efficiency program to save money and preserve the environment.
The program focuses on assisting small businesses by providing them with incentives of up to 70 percent for the cost of upgrading major heating, cooling and lighting systems.
Con Edison will provide small businesses with free energy surveys and free energy conservation measures, such as compact fluorescent light bulbs and water heater thermostats. To qualify, small businesses need to have an average monthly peak demand of less than 100 kilowatts.
The utility highlighted its small business programs at a press conference recently at The New Shanghai Tan Restaurant in Flushing. That business had Con Edison conduct an energy survey that showed it could save $1,500 a year by investing $534 in energy-efficient lighting.
“I encourage every business in our community, both large and small, to take a look at Con Edison’s programs,” said Peter Tu, executive director of the Flushing Chinese Business Association. “This should be of particular importance to us here in Flushing because our business community is growing so rapidly.”
“Our energy-efficiency programs save small businesses money that they can use for investments like new equipment, hiring employees or marketing,” said Esteban Vasquez, a manager in Energy Efficiency and Demand Management for Con Edison. “Businesses that save energy gain a competitive edge and protect the environment.”
Con Edison has conducted energy surveys for 5,600 small businesses this year. And 3,000 of those small businesses have made energy upgrades, saving an estimated 38,000,000 kilowatt hours of usage.
Con Edison’s energy efficiency programs for businesses and homeowners can be found at www.coned.com/greenteam. Customers can also call the company’s Green Team at 1-877-870-6118.
