The Phillips Group of Middletown, Pa., has received the Orion Energy Systems Environmental Stewardship Award for a lighting change that substantially reduces electricity use and the emission of greenhouse gases.

Orion presents the award to companies that significantly reduce harmful greenhouse gases through the use of Orion?s patented lighting products and systems.

Phillips, a leading independent office products company, retrofitted its corporate office and warehouse with Orion?s patented high-efficient fluorescent platform, reducing electricity usage by 223,439 kilowatt-hours. The reduction in energy is expected to save The Phillips Group $19,190 annually in light-related energy costs.

?We?re honored to be recognized by Orion with this award,? said David Fleischer, Phillips? chief information officer and director of facilities, ?particularly because it symbolizes our company?s commitment to being good corporate citizens and caring for our environment.?

Added Peter Phillips, president of The Phillips Group: ?We?ve found that reduced energy use and increased recycling don?t just make us feel good, but they?re really integral to the efficient and successful operation of our businesses.?

In addition to the energy cost savings, the lighting retrofit will keep 175 tons of carbon dioxide and 42 tons of carbon from entering the atmosphere annually. The reduction in greenhouse gases over 20 years equates to planting 820 acres of trees, removing 660 cars from the road or saving 423,640 gallons of gasoline, according to the EPA.

The environmental benefits and energy cost savings of the Phillips Group project are possible because Orion fixtures have been engineered to use a specially formed, highly reflective surface to harvest light emitted from all sides of a fluorescent tube and direct it downward.

?Making changes to your lighting is one of the fastest ways to cut costs and conserve energy,? said Frank Richards, president of Richards Energy Group, a Landisville, Pa., energy consultant that handled the Phillips retrofit. ?We are happy to assist in the process and consider the outcome an extreme success.?

?We?re glad to have helped The Phillips Group benefit from energy efficiency,? said Orion President and CEO Neal Verfuerth. ?We?ve worked hard over the years to develop products that save energy and money, while helping the environment and at the same time provide better and stronger light without our customer having to sacrifice; so it?s not exactly a surprise to us.

?The best part was that to get all this, The Phillips Group didn’t have to do without or give up anything. That’s the way we like to see things work.?


Photo from left to right: Frank Richards, president of Richards Energy Group and David Fleischer, chief information officer of The Phillips Group.

About The Phillips Group

Based in Middletown, Pa., The Phillips Group is a provider of office supplies, office furniture and document management products, serving central Pennsylvania and northern Maryland. Phillips also includes Overnight Office, an office furniture installation and moving company at 800 Paxton St., Harrisburg, and Full Circle Copier Outlet at 100 Market St., Lemoyne. For more information visit buyphillips.com.

Richards Energy Group (REG) is an independent ?energineering? firm dedicated to cutting energy costs for industrial, commercial, and institutional users. We work for energy consumers, not suppliers, vendors, or utilities. Using our many years of utility-related experience, we are able to minimize the energy bills paid by our clients. REG offers a full spectrum of consulting services: a power-purchasing consortium; energy, sales tax and billing audits; lighting retrofits; and real-time metering. Visit our website at richardsenergy.com/reg.

Orion Energy Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: OESX)

is a leading power technology enterprise that designs, manufactures and implements energy management systems, consisting primarily of high-performance, energy efficient lighting systems, controls and related services, for commercial and industrial customers without compromising their quantity or quality of light. Orion has deployed its energy management systems in 3,762 facilities across North America. Since 2001, Orion technology has displaced more than 357 megawatts, saving customers more than $402 million and reducing indirect carbon dioxide emissions by 3.6 million tons. For more information, visit http://www.oriones.com.

Media Contact
Linda Diedrich
Director Corporate Communications
920-482-1988
ljd@oes1.com

Facility Contact
David Fleischer
Chief Information Officer
717-948-5220
dfleischer@buyphillips.com

After 10 years, the Central Pennsylvania Energy Consortium is returning to its original purpose — reducing electricity costs for its members.

State-imposed caps on electric rates — a legacy of deregulation of the industry — begin to expire in two years. The eight-county consortium is developing ways to spare its 300-plus members from major increases in costs.

“We want to be in a position prior to the caps coming off so our members aren’t hit with outrageous rate increases,” said Paul Zeigler, consortium counsel.

Some experts have predicted 20 percent to 30 percent rate increases when the caps expire.

The energy consortium is open to governments, schools, churches, hospitals and other nonprofit organizations. It was founded in the mid-1990s to take advantage of electricity deregulation through bulk purchasing of power.

Electricity hasn’t been a focus of the alliance for several years, however, because competition dried up, Zeigler said. Instead, he said, the alliance has concentrated on saving its members millions of dollars on other forms of energy through bulk buying of natural gas, heating oil, gasoline and diesel fuel.

For example, consortium members last spring paid a locked-in price of $1.58 a gallon for gasoline, about 70 cents less than market prices at the time, Zeigler said.

The new electricity venture is about “avoiding sticker shock,” rather than cutting current costs, he said. The aim, he said, is to amass enough participants and buying power to secure rates that, while higher, won’t break the bank.

The consortium has hired Richards Energy Group of Lancaster as its electricity consultant. That engineering firm has other large clients, including Harley-Davidson, and should be able to make the consortium part of a massive buying pool, Zeigler said.

“We have to do something now. The pressure’s building,” he said. “I don’t see electricity costs dropping.”

The consortium plans to charge members $0.0008 per kilowatt-hour of electricity savings, Zeigler said.

He said its fees for other energy sources also are based on a proportion of the customer’s savings — 1 cent per gallon of savings on liquid fuels and 13.5 cents per metric cubic foot of natural gas. The consortium charges a one-time $100 membership fee.

The electricity initiative and other energy topics will be addressed during the consortium’s general membership meeting Monday at the Capital Area Intermediate Unit.

MATT MILLER: 249-2006 or mmiller@patriot-news.com

ENERGY AGENDA

WHAT: The Central Pennsylvania Energy Consortium will address energy-related topics. WHEN: 8:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Monday Friday January 26th 2007. WHERE: Capital Area Intermediate Unit offices in Summerdale. WHO: The consortium is open to governments, schools, churches, hospitals and other nonprofit organizations. The session is open to nonmembers. INFORMATION: Call Paul Zeigler at 717-920-8420.

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Friday, August 4, 2006
8:30 am
Four Seasons Golf Course and Banquet Facility
Open to all REAP Members

The new fixtures are a much better light source, use a lot less energy, last twice as long and are easier to handle than the old ones. Based on expected hours of operation, the old lighting would have consumed 647,000 kwh per year. The new will only use 243,000 kwh per year which means the Hempland Road facility will now cost about $37,000 less to operate every year.

The old lighting was insufficient, especially at night. Now the light level has more than tripled creating a clearer, crisp atmosphere while using 78 fewer fixtures.

The project was accomplished through a turnkey contract with Richards Energy Group, Inc. (REG), who purchased fixtures directly from a manufacturer in Wisconsin which shipped them directly to Hempland Road. Installation was accomplished by working round-the-clock over one weekend (June 17-18), using a very motivated and experienced crew from REG’s partner, Altech Services. The work was accomplished without disruption to GSM production through the use of 6 high-bay lift trucks, a cherry picker and accommodations made by GSM employees.

Frank Richards, P.E.
Richards Energy Group, Inc.
Published in The Gooding Groups’ newsletter following the retrofit