Abilene, Texas is implementing $9 million in facility enhancements designed to improve energy efficiency at 34 city buildings. TAC, the building management and energy services business of Schneider Electric, will perform the work and guarantees the city will save $12 million over the next 15 years.

The city of Abilene, Texas is implementing $9 million in facility enhancements designed to improve operations, security, comfort and efficiency at 34 city buildings containing approximately 860,000 square feet. TAC, the building management and energy services business of Schneider Electric, will complete the work as a performance contract. TAC guarantees that the city of Abilene will reduce its utility costs enough to save more than $12 million during the next 15 years.

TAC will implement numerous energy conservation measures (ECMs) at facilities across this city of 116,219 located in the western part of the state. These green initiatives are a major first step towards sustainability by the city.

"When the city decided to go forward with this project, officials had four goals in mind," said Odis Dolton, assistant director of finance, city of Abilene. "These were to maximize utility savings, standardize equipment, reduce deferred maintenance and simplify staff training. We believe the performance contact with TAC will provide all this and more."

Performance contracting offers many long-term benefits for municipalities of all sizes, such as improved facility efficiency, occupant comfort, financial management and environmental protection. Typically, new, more efficient equipment and upgraded facility automation systems maximize energy efficiency and generate utility savings. TAC guarantees the amount of savings performance contracting projects will achieve and agrees to pay the difference if that amount is not realized.

As part of the performance contract, TAC will install an integrated energy management system at more than 25 locations around the city, which will include energy management features as well as a security system with access control in the Abilene City Hall. The unified EMS, replacing as many as five that are currently used, will make it easier to manage equipment and operations in city buildings as well as simplify employee training.

Other ECMs include replacing older, inefficient boilers, implementing water conservation measures, replacing five air-handling units at the city library, and installing a new heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) system at the Abilene Civic Center that will be more energy-efficient and make it easier and faster to change from cooling to heating.

Finally, TAC will improve building lighting in the library and city recreation centers and also replace numerous traffic and street lights in the city. These changes will save energy and provide better illumination and safety. "We appreciated TAC's values: We knew TAC would make it right," said Dolton. "TAC's clients indicated trustworthy, open working relationships, and this resonated with the city."

"This multifaceted performance contract will be a definite win-win for citizens and city officials in Abilene," said Shon Anderson, vice president of sales, TAC Energy Solutions. "Buildings will be noticeably more comfortable, managing energy will be easier and the city will experience real cost savings on utility bills immediately upon completion."

The energy savings will also have a positive impact on the environment. The reduction in electricity usage will prevent 2.8 million pounds of carbon from entering the atmosphere, avoid 10 million pounds of CO2 pollution, reduce SO pollution by 88,000 pounds and lower NO gas emissions by 38,000 pounds. This is equivalent to planting almost 129,000 trees, enough to cover 1,200 acres, or removing 871 cars from area roads.

About TAC by Schneider Electric
TAC, the building management and energy services business of Schneider Electric, is a leading provider of solutions that deliver business value to customers by enabling them to do more with less energy. With over 80 years of experience in the HVAC, energy and security arenas, TAC employs more than 8,000 people worldwide, with partners in 80 countries. TAC's parent company, Schneider Electric, is the global specialist in energy management with operations in more than 100 countries, offering integrated solutions across multiple market segments, including leadership positions in energy and infrastructure, industrial processes, building automation, and data centers/networks. Focused on making energy safe, reliable, and efficient, the company's 120,000 employees achieved sales of more than $23.7 billion in 2007. For more information visit www.tac.com and www.schneider-electric.com.