What would you do with an extra $34,000?

From the Reporter & Farmer

Webster Area School Board members learned the district is eligible for a little over a $34,000 refund from Northwestern Energy.

The refund came about after the board questioned a spike in a recent bill and further research found the utility provider had inadvertently switched the meters for the high school gym and the elementary building nearly two years ago. The meters run at different rates and the difference was in the district’s favor.

Board members discussed how they wanted to handle the refund and a consensus was to get a refund and then look at doing an energy audit to see if the school can realize even more energy savings.

A thermal sensor is used in energy audits to find places where heat is escaping the building. Fixing those places can lead to significant savings in utility bills.

Energy audits can easily pay for themselves—see some examples here.

Many electric companies offer energy audits as a service to their customers. You can also find listings for providers of energy audits in South Dakota here and in North Dakota here (click on “Find Raters”).