Thanks to proactive initiatives to curb energy use, the city of Los Angeles saw a 318 gigawatt-hour reduction in energy consumption for the 2008/2009 fiscal year.

According to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the distribution of compact fluorescent lamps and lighting retrofit programs helped the city accomplish this major drop in energy consumption.

The more than 500 rebates to commercial, industrial and government sites for high-efficiency lighting projects reduced energy consumption by 36 gigawatt-hours. This accounted for nearly $4 million in utility bill savings.

And through 77 energy efficiency projects launched under the Custom Performance Program, business energy use was reduced by 26.5 gigawatt-hours. The cost for for these incentives came in at $2.7 million. They will save consumers about $2.9 million.

But the most impressive program was the Small Business Direct Install program, which offered small businesses free energy efficient lighting. This cut energy consumption by 100 gigawatt-hours, and cut individual energy bills by 25 percent.

Here's what Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa had to say. . .

"Avoiding the need to generate power through energy efficiency is the cleanest and most economical way to reduce the city's carbon footprint and I am pleased that the DWP and its customers have been so mindful of their energy usage," Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said in a statement last week."

Also worth noting is the city's 17 percent reduction in water usage during the month of July. Given the city's dangerous water shortage, this is a very big deal.

Jeff