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                     NEWS RELEASE FROM THE

                  CALIFORNIA ENERGY COMMISSION


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For Immediate Release:  Thursday March 23, 1995


         VANDENBERG VILLAGE COMMUNITY SERVICES DISTRICT 
                 HONORED FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY


The Vandenberg Village Community Services District has been named 
an Energy Efficiency Showcase by the California Energy Commission,
which praised the district's resourcefulness in saving energy.

The district is one of only 10 water suppliers to be selected for 
the Commission's Energy Showcase project.  Sixteen wastewater 
districts were also selected from the more than 4,000 water and 
sewer agencies in California.

"The Showcase program was designed to reward and spotlight energy 
efficient water suppliers like this one," explained Commissioner 
Jananne Sharpless of the Energy Commission.  "With their 
dedicated approach to energy use, the operators of the Vandenberg 
Village Community Services District serve as models for other 
water professionals around the state."

Operating three wells and four storage reservoirs, the Vandenberg 
Village District furnishes water to over 2,100 customers in an 
unincorporated square-mile area just north of Lompoc.  To help 
cut its utility costs and save energy, the district recently 
installed sophisticated computerized operating controls on its 
water system.  It replaced old motors with smaller, high 
efficiency models and installed variable speed drives on some 
pumps.  Where possible, it shifted pumping times to off-peak 
hours to make use of cheaper electrical rates.   The district 
also sought out and repaired enough water leaks to reduce its 
pumping by approximately 10 percent. 

"In the past 12 months, we've reduced our overall energy 
consumption by 32 percent," said TK Keller, the district's 
General Manager.

As a participant in the Energy Showcase project, the Vandenberg 
Village Community Services District will serve as a demonstration 
site, allowing other water suppliers to learn from its 
accomplishments.  

"The Energy Commission is encouraging every water supplier and 
every wastewater agency in the state to become as energy 
efficient as possible," said Sharpless.  "It makes good business 
sense.  Californians spend over half a billion dollars a year to 
pump and treat their water and sewage.  If every agency could cut 
its energy bill by 10 percent, the savings statewide would result 
in an additional $50 million a year that could be used to replace 
old pipes and aging infrastructure, improve water quality, and 
increase the amount of water recycling."


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For more information, contact:

	
TK Keller, General Manager, 
Vandenberg Village Community Services District, (805) 733-3417
	
Rob Schlichting, California Energy Commission, (916) 654-5159


end of file
File Name: 95-03-23_Vandenberg_Water_Award