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Bryant & Stratton College Enrolls in Demand Response Program

Bryant & Stratton College has signed up its Syracuse campus in the PowerPay New York demand response program administered by Energy Curtailment Specialists Inc.

Bryant & Stratton College has signed up its Syracuse campus in the PowerPay New York demand response program administered by Energy Curtailment Specialists Inc.

As a participant in the program, the business college system's Syracuse campus agrees to ease up its draw from the grid by about 100kW during peak demand periods and energy emergencies. In exchange for reducing its energy use, the campus will receive an undisclosed amount of compensation from ECS.

"As part of the college's Green Initiative, we are taking great measures to become energy efficient and ECS' program is a win-win situation," Jim Evans, director of facilities for Bryant & Stratton College's Syracuse campus, said in a statement released today. "My goal is to offset some of the costs associated with upgrading our facility with state of the art electronic components, while taking pressure off the grid and helping the environment."

As part of its green initiative, the Syracuse campus exchanged all its 60-watt dormitory light bulbs with 14-watt bulbs and replaced more than 150 older HVAC units with state-of-the-art, energy efficient Trane units. The campus also embarked on an aggressive energy management system that's keyed to its four-day class schedule. During the three-day weekend, the college's electricity is all but shut down in classrooms.

Enrolling in the demand response program is "an excellent way for them to expand on their Green Initiative and raise awareness among their students about the steps they are taking to be more energy efficient," ECS co-founder, CEO and President Glen Smith said in his company's announcement of the latest school to sign up for the program.

"Educational institutions are ideal candidates for demand response," ECS spokeswoman Tracey Penner told GreenerBuildings.

The learning environment, its schedules and efforts to incorporate green elements into campus life contribute to schools being strong candidates for demand response and energy efficiency programs, Penner said. "Also, the money they earn from participating in the program is very helpful in funding other academic, athletic or energy initiatives, just to name a few," she said.

More than 400 educational institutions are enrolled in demand response programs overseen by ECS, and some of the schools have signed up multiple sites, according to Penner.

Bryant & Stratton College, established more than 150 years ago in Buffalo, now has 15 campuses. Half are in New York, the other campus are Ohio, Wisconsin and Virginia.

ECS is the largest privately held demand response provider in the United States.

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