FARMINGTON — An initiative offered by Efficiency Maine could help small businesses and landlords reduce costs by upgrading to energy-efficient LED lighting.

The initiative is being rolled out across the state in limited geographic areas, Michael Stoddard, executive director of Efficiency Maine, said. It was offered in Aroostook County a couple years ago and last year in the Waterville, Oxford, Norway and Fryeburg areas.

Now, the Western Maine is being given the opportunity to participate, including the area of Route 2 from Skowhegan to Bethel and up to Jackman, Eustis and Wilson Mills, Rick Meinking, program manager for Efficiency Maine, said. This also includes businesses and landlords in Avon, Fairbanks, Farmington, Industry, New Sharon, Phillips, Starks, Strong, Temple and Wilton.

Open to businesses rated as small general service customers, or which use less than 24 kilowatt hours a month, the initiative can help businesses upgrade to LEDs, Meinking said.

Most small business in the Farmington area qualify, but customers can check their bills to see if they are listed as “small general service” under the delivery charge section.

Chris Begin of Farmington is visiting local businesses for Efficiency Maine to help get the word out. He spoke briefly about the program during a Franklin County Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours meeting last week.

Efficiency Maine has made arrangements with local contractors to do an assessment of what needs to be done to switch to LED lighting and provide a savings estimate, he said. 

Many businesses have inefficient lighting which can make an impact on their electrical bill, he said. They may not be large enough to hire a contractor to change the lights. Rather than doing the project and waiting for Efficiency Maine to provide a rebate, the organization is being more proactive, he said.

If a business moves forward with the upgrade, the cost to do so will be the amount saved on the bill during the first year, Meinking said. Efficiency Maine will cover the rest of the cost, an amount that could be a few thousand dollars.

It is a one-year payback on costs for the business, he said.

“It is a good deal, better than our regular lighting program,” he said.

Efficiency Maine cannot do anything that is not cost-efficient, he said.

This is a limited time offer so the program can move on to other areas of the state.

For more information or to sign up for a free energy assessment, call Efficiency Maine at 866-376-2463 or go online to www.efficiencymaine.com/at-work/farmington. 

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