Idaho Energy Education Project

Winter, 2010 Community
Author: Bill Chisholm

Idaho Energy Education Project Report #21 by Bill Chisholm I can’t think of many things that are as rewarding as seeing a students eyes light up when the dots connect and an idea is grasped. That is what the Idaho Energy Education Project envisioned when it proposed to the Idaho Public Utilities Commission that $500,000 of the monies from the sale of SO2 credits by Idaho Power be used for energy education, an investment in the future. While the PUC found the idea of interest and ordered that it be explored further; it looked at one point as if the necessary players couldn’t be pulled together to bring the project to fruition. Thankfully, Idaho Power stepped up to the plate with a proposal that included many of the ideas that IEEP had proposed in its original concept. IEEP and other interested parties asked that an advisory panel be put in place to participate in the Idaho Power project as the monies to be used came from the ratepayers’ portion of the sales revenue. The advisory panel includes IEEP, staff from the Idaho Department of Education, the Idaho Office of Energy Resources, the PUC, a number of educators and private citizens. Idaho Power hired a project facilitator, John Bernardo, who has impressive credentials in both energy efficiency and education. The project has both a high school and an elementary component. The high school program is up and running with the training of high school student assessment teams three quarters complete as of this writing. The student teams are given background on the importance of energy efficiency and the means of assessing the energy use (primarily electrical) in their schools and an impressive set of tools to accomplish the assessment including light meters, watt meters, ballast detectors, small light and temperature detectors that can take readings over time. The students will assess both technical and habitual components of energy use in their schools and be able to make recommendations with supporting numbers on how the school might be able to lower energy use and thus costs. The students will present their findings to the appropriate boards and various groups in their schools and communities. These student assessments will be dovetailed in with other assessments that are part of an energy efficiency effort for the schools through the Idaho Office of Energy Resources that is being funded by stimulus money. Idaho Power also has an energy efficiency incentive program in place, so it is hoped that many of the student proposals will be funded and their efforts will manifest in actual energy efficiency projects in their schools. The elementary program which is designed to reach more students across the Idaho Power service area is just beginning to ramp up. Teachers have been identified and a curriculum chosen along with kits that will provide the students with some hands on opportunities. IEEP has been very impressed with the way Idaho Power has moved to get this project off the ground and involved the advisory board in the process. IEEP is actively involved in the project having attended the train and will be working with three of the high school teams in assessing the three Buhl schools. The project is in its infancy, but IEEP believes it is off to a good start. After getting through this first phase, the project will be evaluated to see how it can be improved in year two and hopefully the value of the program will move the PUC and others to keep the program funded.

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