The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recognized AEP Southwestern Electric Power Co. (SWEPCO) with a 2015 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year – Energy Efficiency Program Delivery Award – for the company’s program in Arkansas.

The award recognizes SWEPCO’s successful implementation of the Home Performance with ENERGY STAR (HPwES) program in Arkansas, which promotes the use of ENERGY STAR-certified products and technologies that help improve home performance. SWEPCO has been an HPwES partner since 2012.

EPA noted SWEPCO’s accomplishments in gigawatt-hours in energy savings, HPwES projects completed, program training for participating contractors, collaboration to broaden program impact, and building partnerships between big box retailers and contractors.

"We are honored to receive this award,” said Phil Watkins, Energy Efficiency and Consumer Programs Manager for SWEPCO in Arkansas. “Through our work, Arkansas homeowners are applying whole-house improvements to increase energy efficiency and make their homes more comfortable.”

Ely Jacobsohn, EPA’s Home Performance with ENERGY STAR Program Manager, said, “Congratulations to AEP Southwestern Electric Power Company for their work in helping American homeowners make energy-efficient improvements to their homes. By doing so, homeowners are saving energy and money and also helping to protect the environment.”

ENERGY STAR has 16,000 partners working to protect the environment through greater energy efficiency, including manufacturers, retailers, public schools, hospitals, real estate companies, and home builders.

SWEPCO will be recognized in Washington, D.C. on April 20, 2015.

SWEPCO’s key 2014 accomplishments include:

• Generating approximately 1.7 gigawatt-hours in energy savings, including an installed measure conversion rate of 93 percent, up 22 percent from 2013
• Experiencing 1,300 percent growth from 2013 to 2014 by completing 1,013 HPwES projects in 2014
• Providing extensive program training in the form of monthly face-to-face mentoring sessions, six technical training events for program contractors, and utilizing a quality assurance/quality control process to foster best practices
• Working collaboratively with the local natural gas utility program that provides rebates for energy efficiency home improvements, broadening the impact of the HPwES program, recruiting gas utility program contractors, and further enhancing the customer experience
• Partnering big box hardware retailers with local HPwES contractors and offering auditing services at in-store kiosks

For information on SWEPCO's energy efficiency programs, visit: www.SWEPCOgridSMART.com/Arkansas

For a complete list of 2015 winners and information, and more information about ENERGY STAR’s awards program, visit www.energystar.gov/awardwinners
 

About SWEPCO:
SWEPCO serves more than 524,000 customers in western Arkansas, northwest and central Louisiana, northeast Texas and the Texas Panhandle. SWEPCO’s headquarters are in Shreveport, La. News releases and other information about SWEPCO can be found at www.swepco.com. SWEPCO is a unit of American Electric Power, one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, delivering electricity to more than 5.3 million customers in 11 states.
 

About ENERGY STAR:
ENERGY STAR® is the simple choice for energy efficiency. For more than 20 years, people across America have looked to the ENERGY STAR program for guidance on how to save energy, save money, and protect the environment. Home Performance with ENERGY STAR is a systematic approach to improving energy efficiency and comfort in homes, while reducing the greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. Today, ENERGY STAR is the most widely recognized symbol for energy efficiency in the world, helping families and businesses save $300 billion on utility bills, while reducing carbon pollution by two billion metric tons since 1992. Join the millions who are already making a difference at energystar.gov.