[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 6 (Tuesday, January 27, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E56]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    RECOGNIZING THE PACIFIC GAS AND ELECTRIC ENERGY TRAINING CENTER

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                         HON. DENNIS A. CARDOZA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 27, 2004

  Mr. CARDOZA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Energy 
Training Center, which was established by Pacific Gas and Electric in 
1978 to help California's low-income residents cope with rising utility 
costs, thus becoming the first utility company to offer energy 
education to members of the community.
  Mr. Speaker, more than 46,000 people have been trained in the 
principles of energy efficiency, including employees from local 
community service agencies, private contractors, education specialists, 
and builders. Also, the Energy Training Center has provided training to 
employees of Pacific Gas and Electric Smarter Energy Line, which has 
assisted well over three million customer calls.
  The Energy Training Center's innovative teaching techniques utilize 
hands-on experience. This has helped students perform more than two 
million energy surveys for single-family households and conduct site 
surveys on common-use areas serving more than one million multi-family 
units. All of this hard work has created more energy efficient 
households, and has conserved over 264 million kWh and over 34 million 
therms of energy, which has prevented more than 276 million pounds of 
carbon dioxide from polluting our environment.
  Our community has greatly benefited from the Energy Training Center 
over the years, not only regarding energy conservation, but also from 
partnerships with local agencies. Throughout its years of operation, 
the Energy Training Center has made successful partnerships with the 
California Conservation Crops, California Energy Commission, and San 
Joaquin Delta College.
  Mr. Speaker, on behalf of all my colleagues, I send my 
congratulations on the Energy Training Center's 25th Anniversary, and 
for setting a fine example of cooperation between private enterprise 
and the people it serves.

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