American Municipal Power presents Efficiency Smart renewal, touts millions in local savings

Representatives from American Municipal Power (AMP) told the Napoleon City Council that the Efficiency Smart program has delivered substantial savings to the city and its customers and outlined terms for a possible contract renewal.

"I'm Adam Ward. I'm with American Municipal Power," AMP representative Adam Ward said as he opened a presentation on the program. Sean, the Efficiency Smart presenter, explained market trends—rising natural gas and capacity costs—and argued that energy-efficiency measures provide a lower, more stable means to meet a portion of power supply needs.

Sean presented Napoleon-specific program results: the program has delivered about $11,000,000 in utility cost savings and about $16,000,000 in customer savings since the program’s start. He said Efficiency Smart has served nearly 660 unique households in Napoleon and delivered about 38,000 lighting products. For the current contract cycle (2023–2025), presenters reported a forecast of roughly 104% of the megawatt-hour goal and about 77% of the kilowatt (demand) goal.

On program economics, Sean said the presentation’s work showed a reported program return on investment of 202% and argued that rising market prices will make avoided costs from efficiency even more valuable going forward. He reviewed a draft of terms for the next contract cycle and, as recorded in the transcript, described a monthly cost of "less than $19,000" and a "3 year cost of 682" (transcript text), noting those figures in the staff presentation as rounded values to be confirmed. The presenter also described active project pipelines: 16 projects closed with 11 different companies this cycle and several additional projects expected to close before the end of the contract cycle.

Sean highlighted residential engagement and outreach, noting an appliance-recycling event that collected about 60 units from 35–40 participants and saying residential participation had risen roughly 75% over the contract cycle. He also described customer-support services and the account-management role of "Joey," Efficiency Smart’s local account manager.

During a council Q&A and public comments segment, residents and council members asked about program logistics, the timeline for consultative services if the city did not renew a contract, and technical questions about specific equipment. Presenters said consultative services are available through the end of the year and that incentives are sometimes paid if paperwork is completed on time; they also said the program can lend an electric usage monitor to help residents measure appliance loads.

Council members thanked the presenters; the transcript records no immediate motion or formal council vote to renew the contract during this meeting. The program’s numerical claims in this presentation (savings totals, participation counts, ROI, and projected contract costs) were stated by program representatives during the meeting and are reported here as presented.

The city may return to the item for formal contract consideration in a future meeting if staff bring an ordinance or resolution authorizing a renewal.