On Thursday, the Public Service Commission will host what Commissioner Brandon Presley hopes will be the first of many energy efficiency workshops across the northern district.
Presley said the workshop, which is open to anyone who wants to attend, will show business owners how to use a rebate program the Public Service Commission offers with companies such as Atmos Energy that can help make up the cost in purchasing new, more energy-efficient equipment.
The program is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. in the CMTE building’s seminar room at East Mississippi Community College’s Golden Triangle campus.
“The workshop on Thursday is aimed at trying to inform small business owners, and all business owners, for opportunities to lower energy costs,” Presley said. “We know that’s one of the biggest tickets in a small business.
“Being able to help Main Street and small businesses is a way we can keep jobs in our community, and these small businesses are the backbone of the Mississippi economy,” Presley later added.
Presley said the program has already seen success, citing Vanelli’s Bistro in Tupelo receiving a $4,300 rebate in September, and Carlisle’s Cleaners in Amory getting about $1,200 back from purchasing energy-efficient equipment.
However, he said the program is not well-known, and he wants to take steps to expand its footprint across the northern district’s 33 counties. That will start in the Golden Triangle.
“This is our first big effort to do that,” Presley said. “Working with the LINK and the Lowndes County Chamber, we want to get the word out and take this program and walk the main streets of Mississippi.”
Presley said Golden Triangle Development LINK CEO Joe Max Higgins suggested hosting the workshop after hearing about the money Vanelli’s Bistro saved.
Higgins, in an issued statement, said the workshop could offer a chance to focus on small businesses.
“So often we focus our efforts on larger programs with high-dollar impact,” he said. “This is an outreach to smaller companies so they can increase efficiency and decrease costs.”
Chamber President Lisa James said the workshop will have free refreshments and should benefit member businesses.
“This is a tangible benefit of membership within the Chamber,” James said. “We’re working to provide resources that directly affect our members’ bottom line.”
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
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