Caddo Kiowa Technology Center in Fort Cobb has received an incentive check for $7,194.90 from Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO) for participation in PSO’s Smart Schools program.

Smart Schools is offered by PSO to help education facilities reduce operating costs by identifying and implementing energy efficiency improvement projects. The amount of the incentive is determined by the total amount of energy that will be saved by those improvements.

Caddo Kiowa Technology Center earned its incentive for installing a highly energy efficient ground source heat pump system. The new system will conserve an estimated 24,212 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year and is expected to reduce the school system’s annual costs for heating and cooling by approximately $1,500 per year.

"Every dollar we save on energy is a dollar we can put back into the classrooms and facilities that benefit our students," said Dennis Ruttman, CEO/Superintendent, Caddo Kiowa Technology Center. "We appreciate PSO and their commitment to energy efficiency and education."

"We identified a real need for an energy efficiency program that addresses the specific needs of our larger customers, especially as budgets are spread thin," said Kerry Rowland, PSO Consumer Programs coordinator. "By partnering with the Caddo Kiowa Technology Center to reduce energy costs, their valuable resources can now be used for other needs."

PSO, a unit of American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP), is an electric utility company serving approximately 535,000 customers in eastern and southwestern Oklahoma. With headquarters in Tulsa, PSO has 4,321 megawatts of generating capacity and provides electricity to 230 cities and towns across a service area encompassing 30,000 square miles. News releases and other information about PSO can be found on the World Wide Web at PSOklahoma.com.