Got the Utility Bill Blues? Workshop to Provide Energy Saving Tips for Businesses.

Business Editors

CLEVELAND--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 18, 2001

Ohio businesses are opening their wallets wide this winter to pay for natural gas bills that are nearly triple last year's costs.

This February, CEC Consultants, Inc. in partnership with Energy Star, Rebuild America and Interstate Gas Supply, is sponsoring a workshop that will focus on 30 tips to help industrial and commercial business owners cut their utility costs.

Natural gas prices have skyrocketed recently, reaching a new record high of $9.978 per million btu (British thermal units) on January 3, 2001; more than four times higher than the January 2000 cost of $2.344 per million btu. Compounding the problem of high natural gas prices, temperatures have reached record lows this winter. Composite temperatures in four select cities (Chicago, Kansas City, New York, and Pittsburgh) in the month of December were 10 to 14 degrees below normal.

One of CEC's partners in this cost reduction effort is Interstate Gas Supply (IGS) of Dublin, OH. IGS is one of the states largest suppliers of natural gas.

Doug Austin, Vice President of IGS and others say no one is to blame for the price spike other than the free market.

"It's not as if anyone's done anything wrong," Austin says. "It's just how much the fuel costs right now."

Price hikes began early in the summer, but the impact has been much greater this winter and business owners need to act now. Rising energy costs will affect their bottom line.

The half day long session will feature 30 tips to help businesses cut their utility costs. Businesses may want to send facilities managers and/or business service people to learn about practices they can implement immediately at little or no cost.

"These are immediate, simple steps that people can initiate usually by themselves within hours -- not weeks or months," says John R. Puskar, P.E., CEC Consultants principal engineer. "These are low cost or no-cost measures that will help business owners save money now."

The workshop will be held in Cleveland (2/1), Cincinnati (2/7), Columbus (2/8), Toledo (2/13) and Detroit (2/15). Cost is $125 per person, with a reduced registration of $50 for each additional participant from the same company. Fees include breakfast, lunch and conference materials. Pre-registration is required.

For more information about the workshop or to register, please contact CEC Consultants, Inc. by phone: [phone] or fax: [phone].

CEC has won numerous energy awards including the U.S. EPA's Energy Star Buildings National Ally of the Year award, ASHRAE Energy Project Of The Year and the Automotive News magazine's Pace Award winner for a ventilation energy savings project.