Farmington Utility To Help Pay for Green City Buildings
Associated Press
FARMINGTON — The Farmington Electric Utility will help pay for city-owned buildings to go green in an effort to cut costs for the utility and promote green building technologies.
"We're trying to encourage the construction of city facilities that would incorporate green technology that would be friendly to the environment, as well as a cost savings to the utility," Maude Grantham-Richards, administrator of Farmington Electric Utility, said.
The amount the utility pays depends on how much money would be saved by not having to generate the electricity used by the building. The amount would be approved by the Public Utility Commission and the city council. The projects could be new buildings or renovations.
While supporting the policy, Councilor George Sharpe said the council views it as a mission statement, rather than a mandate to use environmentally friendly building technologies.
"At the end of the day we're going to have to make to make a cost-savings benefit decision on a case-by-case basis," he said.
Sharpe said he is concerned that the utility could lose money as buildings save more energy.
Grantham-Richards said the savings would come when the utility does not have to build new power plants as quickly.
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