Events Upcoming
New Members
Springfield, Ill.—City Water, Light and Power is one of 45 U.S. public power utilities, which has earned the 2024 Smart Energy Provider (SEP) designation from the American Public Power Association (APPA) for a commitment to and proficiency in efficiency, distributed energy resources, renewable energy, and environmental initiatives, while also providing affordable electric service. Achieving the SEP designation—an honor the utility also earned in the last award cycle in 2022, helps CWLP benchmark and evaluate its operations, policies and programs against industry best practices.
“Our goal as a community-owned power provider should be to be as sustainable as possible while providing excellent service to Springfield,” said Mayor Misty Buscher. “I believe it’s very important that CWLP not only benchmarks its practices against their peers but also excels and leads in adopting smart energy practices and policies.”
The SEP designation evaluates four key disciplines: smart energy programming; energy efficiency and distributed energy programs (solar); environmental and sustainability initiatives; and customer communication and education.
“I’m honored that CWLP has earned this designation based on the things that a municipal utility does best—putting customers first by prioritizing energy efficiency and sustainability, and keeping power affordable and reliable,” said CWLP Chief Utility Engineer Doug Brown.
CWLP’s application scored high in smart energy programming for its incentivized rate structure for customer-owned solar in its net metering program, along with its wind energy capacity contract to 2037/2038 and its 2020 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), which led to the retirement of three coal-fired units in the utility’s transition to cleaner energy sources. The utility received high marks in the category for research and development for its participation in U of I’s Dallman Unit 4 Carbon Capture Pilot, CO2 as feedstock for algae and scrubber wastewater treatment. For demand-side management energy efficiency programs, CWLP was recognized for many of its Energy Services Office programs, including energy audits, home retrofits, lighting, water heaters, heat pumps and HE AC systems, and utility-owned solar for its 250 kW installation under the mySolar subscription program.
APPA announced CWLP’s Smart Energy Award on October 28th in Louisville, Kentucky during its annual Customer Connections Conference.
