Last month, Habitat for Humanity of Snohomish County’s Smokey Point store was one of the first recipients of the Small Business Direct Install program, operated by Snohomish County Public Utilities District in partnership with Puget Sound Energy (PSE) and Willdan Energy Solutions.
On Tuesday, May 11 2021, the Snohomish County Public Utilities District (PUD) installed more than $23,000 of new lighting equipment at the Smokey Point Habitat Store in Arlington, WA, at no cost to Habitat Snohomish. PUD contractors installed 67 metal halide high bays, eight linear strips and four wraps. These new light fixtures will not only brighten the store, but are projected to save more than $7,500 per year in electrical costs.
The money saved through this upgrade will be redirected to support Habitat’s work. This includes the nonprofit’s new Home Repair Service, which helps keep low-income homeowners in their homes by performing critical repairs.
The Small Business Direct Install Program is designed to provide energy efficiency improvements to small businesses with locations that are 10,000 square feet or less, at low or no cost to the business owner.
“We have wanted to build and launch the small business program for a long time,” said Sheri Miller, the Customer and Energy Services Program Manager for PUD. “Small businesses are so important to the health of our community, and we know small businesses are busy; I used to be a small business owner myself. That’s why we want to make it as easy on those small businesses as we can.”
Although the entire project was completed in a day, its cost savings will continue to benefit Habitat Snohomish for years to come.
Learn more about this program here.