Pineville, La. – Today, Cleco awarded Iberia Parish nearly $17,000 in cash incentives for its commitment to energy efficiency. 

Iberia Parish, a Cleco customer and participant in Cleco’s CitySmart Program, completed lighting upgrades that help the parish improve energy usage and reduce energy costs.  In total, the parish installed over 240 LEDs saving 160,357 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year.  According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), this is the equivalent of eliminating the carbon dioxide emissions from 12,681 gallons of gasoline or the electricity use of 12 homes for one year. 

“The new lighting will reduce our energy costs,” said Mike Lopresto, vice chair of Acadiana Fairgrounds.  “Plus, the lights have added improved lighting quality to our facilities.” 

Cleco’s CitySmart Program is designed to help government organizations identify ways to save energy.  The program includes no-cost facility improvement recommendations and offers financial incentives for qualifying projects.   

“The CitySmart Program is one of many energy efficiency programs that provide assistance and financial incentives to Cleco customers for installing energy efficiency measures that reduce energy consumption,” said Richard Sharp, director of resource planning. “The programs also are available to commercial and industrial customers, residential customers, small businesses and schools.”

Launched in 2014, Cleco’s energy efficiency programs have awarded its customers $3,273,558 in incentives for completed energy efficiency projects which also can lead to lower bills for customers.  Incentives include rebates for energy efficient improvements, such as insulation, air conditioning tune-ups and mail-in rebates for energy efficient appliances.  In addition to the monetary benefits, the programs have reduced energy consumption by over 32,200,456 kilowatt-hours which is the equivalent of eliminating the carbon dioxide emissions from 2,546,383 gallons of gasoline, according to the EPA.

Click here to learn more about the energy efficiency program or call 1-877-662-4047.