Penn Hills School District nets $136,495 rebate from Duquesne Light for lighting upgrades

Leaders from the Penn Hills community, school district, Duquesne Light Co. and Constellation Energy gathered July 31 at Linton Middle School’s Senator Jay Costa Media Center to present the school district with a nearly $136,500 rebate from Duquesne Light Company.

The district successfully completed lighting retrofit projects across its elementary, middle and high schools.

According to Duquesne Light, the retrofits involved replacing outdated lighting systems with energy-efficient solutions to provide better illumination for students and staff, create more comfortable learning environments and decrease annual energy consumption districtwide.

The $6 million project was completed by Constellation Energy.

“The development phase took roughly a year and a half, and we went to contract in August of last year,” said Ronald Krhovsky, senior business development manager with Constellation Energy. “The project values almost $6 million. Energy savings over a 20-year term came out to be roughly $8.2 million.”

The district is projected to save about 1.6 million kilowatt hours annually.

“We commend the Penn Hills School District for utilizing our Business Solutions Program to save money and make their schools more energy efficient,” said Kristy Stone, chief customer officer for Duquesne Light. “The rebate awarded to the district is a testament to the power of collaboration and innovation, and we’re honored to be a part of a project that will benefit students, staff and the community for years to come.”

The $136,495 rebate was granted through Duquesne Light’s Business Solutions Program, which is designed to incentivize the adoption of energy-efficient technology by offering financial rebates to organizations that complete qualifying upgrades. Members of Constellation submitted paperwork for the rebate while working on the project.

“Today represents the kind of innovation and collaboration to power our schools, both literally and figuratively, into a stronger future,” said John Zahorchak, chief financial officer and director of operations for the Penn Hills School District.

Sen. Jay Costa, D-Forest Hills, attended the news conference, emphasizing his advocacy for energy-saving projects within the district and beyond.

“When you have good, thoughtful partners working together, good things happen,” Costa said.

The rebate is calculated on one year of annual energy savings. District officials did not detail plans for the $136,495.