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Vineland utility officials review energy-efficiency initiatives
VINELAND -- Three of the city's electric utility officials recently traveled to New Brunswick for a meeting on renewable-energy and energy-efficiency initiatives. Vineland Municipal Electric Utility Director Joseph Isabella, spokeswoman Lisa Lucena, and net metering specialist Gus Foster were among roughly 300 municipal government officials who attended last week. The state Board of Public Utilities and Department of Community Affairs sponsored the event to educate city officials about the state's programs and financial incentives for renewable energy and energy efficiency work at the local level, according to a news release. "It's good for us to stay active in information sharing," Isabella said. "I believe this utility has fallen way behind in many areas, and I believe we need to stay up to speed in the future." Vineland is already an applicant for one of the programs discussed at the meeting. Denise Monaco, the city's business administrator, applied for Vineland to participate in the Local Government Energy Audit program in December. The program sends contractors to survey municipal buildings to later make recommendations of how to make that building more energy efficient, Isabella said. Improved energy efficiency could lower the city's bills, he said, "and those lower costs are passed on to citizens in the form of taxes." The meeting also focused on rebate programs for utility customers, Isabella said. The state BPU offers numerous programs in which South Jersey Gas customers can qualify for rebates, he said. "For residents who are not South Jersey Gas customers, we're looking at setting up a program internally," Isabella said, explaining the city could help residents seek additional rebates for their efforts in energy efficiency. Lucena said the discussions are in the early stages and nothing has been decided yet.
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