CALIFORNIA ENERGY COMMISSION
                      NEWS RELEASE


For Immediate Release: December 14, 1994
More Information Contact: Rob Schlichting - (916) 654-5159



STATE LOAN PROVIDES ROBLA SCHOOL DISTRICT 
WITH ENERGY EFFICIENT LIGHTING



The California Energy Commission today approved a $81,450 
low-interest loan to the Robla School District near North 
Highlands for new energy efficient lighting.

The loan, made possible through the Commission's Bright Schools 
Program, will enable the district to reduce energy use at three 
of its four schools and its administrative office. 

With an enrollment of approximately 2,000 students in grades 
kindergarten through eight, the Robla District operates the 
Robla, Bell Avenue, Taylor Street and Glenwood elementary 
schools.  District offices are located on the grounds of the
Robla School.  A fifth school, Main Avenue Elementary, is 
inactive at this time.  

"Our newest school, Glenwood, was finished just this past 
summer," said Wayne Sjolund, Facilities Manager for the Robla
District.  "It was built to be energy efficient.  Now, thanks 
to this loan, the district can update our older schools to make 
them energy efficient as well."

The Robla District will begin replacing inefficient incandescent
lights with energy-saving fluorescents in its classrooms.  
Existing fluorescent bulbs and fixtures will be upgraded as 
well.  It is estimated that the projects will cut the district's
utility bill by almost $17,000 a year.

The project is a Bright Schools Partnership effort with the 
Sacramento Municipal Utility District, which offers rebates to 
customers who reduce their energy use.  Even without power 
company rebates, however, the school district should be able to 
repay the Commission's loan in a little over five years, just 
from energy savings alone.

"We would like to plow the savings back into other energy-saving
measures, like upgraded heating and air conditioning," Sjolund 
said.  "The three schools that we're upgrading are at least 50-
years-old, and part of the Robla School dates back to 1911.  So 
our district offers plenty of opportunities for energy 
improvement." 

Projects to upgrade lighting began last summer when the district
retrofitted its preschool facility, located in portable 
classrooms on the Bell Avenue campus.  "Preschool consists of 
five classrooms and an office, in which we replaced old recessed
florescent fixtures that we discovered were sending most of the 
light up into the ceiling," Sjolund explained.  "We're happy 
with the energy savings resulting from that small project, and 
our teachers are ecstatic over the improved lighting quality we 
achieved.  Rooms that were dark, dingy and depressing are now 
almost twice as bright.  

"We're saving money, even as we improve classroom quality and 
comfort," he concluded.  "That's invaluable in this era of tight
educational budgets."

The Energy Commission's Bright Schools Program was established 
to help finance energy-saving projects for small school 
districts with fewer than 2,501 students.  The funds come from 
negotiated settlements and court judgments against petroleum 
companies for consumer overcharges between 1973 and 1981.


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Wayne Sjolund, 
Facilities Manager, Robla School District (916) 991-1728

Energy Commission Contact: 
Rob Schlichting, Information Officer (916) 654-5159



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