One year ago, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) Board of Commissioners selected Comverge, Inc. (Nasdaq: COMV), to provide a voluntary energy curtailment program, and this relationship has paid off with a $1.6 million rebate to the MWRD.

Pictured from left to right:  MWRD Commissioner Frank Avila, Kellen Bol­lentino from Comverge and MWRD principal electrical engineers Sam Evans, Pinakin Desai and Tony Tijerina.  (Photo courtesy of the MWRD).

Comverge systems request participants to voluntarily reduce energy use when the region’s electricity grid is on the verge of a brownout or blackout due to high electricity usage.

The voluntary curtailment occurs without sacrificing operations and defers the need for building additional generating plants that would be necessary to meet the short-lived peak demands expected on the hottest summer days. In return for participating in the program last year, Comverge presented the MWRD with a check during Thursday, February 16, Board of Commissioners meeting.

“As the MWRD looks for cost savings in every aspect of providing wastewater treatment to over five million homes and businesses, we have significantly reduced our electrical utility bills,” said MWRD Executive Director David St. Pierre. “Last year, we netted the MWRD and taxpayers nearly $20 million in rate savings by procuring electricity through competitive online auctions.

The installation of solar panels at our Egan Treatment plant in Schaumburg in January will help further reduce our energy reliance, and now, Comverge helped us to reduce our load from prior years and delivered over $1.6 million in revenue. Selecting this business model has definitely paid off now and will continue to do so.”