Norwich Public Utilities (NPU) has awarded Three Rivers Community College (TRCC) with a rebate of $95,018 following the successful completion of a facility-wide upgrade of its interior lighting.

The budget for this project was $271,480, with NPU’s Lighting Retrofit Program providing a rebate of 35% ($95,018) of the total cost. In addition to the rebate, the TRCC will save $55,366 in annual energy costs going forward, which translates to just over a three year return on investment.

“Our long-standing partnership with Three Rivers Community College is deeper and stronger as a result of this exciting project,” said Chris LaRose, Acting General Manager of NPU. “Three Rivers is a critical part of this community and we look forward to working with their students, faculty and staff for years to come.”

NPU worked with TRCC to develop a project to replace all of their 8,575 lightbulbs with energy-efficient LED lightbulbs, which provide better light with significantly less electricity. NPU and TRCC also collaborated on the installation of occupancy sensors in a number of locations throughout the campus to further reduce energy use and costs.

“To put the scope of this project in perspective, with NPU’s help, Three Rivers Community College will save more than $55,000 a year on our energy costs, which is the equivalent of the tuition for 14 of our full-time students,” said Mary Ellen Jukoski, President of Three Rivers Community College. “NPU has been a great supporter of the College for years and their guidance throughout this project is greatly appreciated.”

The planning for the project began in late 2017, and was completed throughout 2018. The project was managed for TRCC by Arnie Della Rossa, Facilities Manager and James Kelly, Purchasing Officer, with additional assistance provided by the Institute for Sustainable Energy at Eastern Connecticut State University and the State of Connecticut’s Department of Administrative Services.