SAN JOSÉ, Calif. – San José Mayor Sam Liccardo will accept, on behalf of the City, the Energy Saving Superhero Award from OhmConnect as a reward for San José residents reducing the greatest amount of energy use in 2021 in the OhmConnect City Energy Challenge. OhmConnect CEO Cisco DeVries presented the City with a $50,000 award. The funds will go towards San José Aspires micro-scholarships, a program that enables youth in underserved neighborhoods to set goals that chart a path toward receiving a post-secondary education and reduce the barriers that disadvantaged students of color face in accessing academic opportunities. The Challenge, which launched on May 19, 2021, was a friendly competition between Oakland, Fresno, San José and Bakersfield, with each city working to recruit new energy savers to help prevent summer blackouts.
“I am immensely proud of San Joséans for rising to the challenge of cutting back their energy use in the face of public utility shut offs and the risk of wildfires across our state,” said San José Mayor Sam Liccardo. “These Energy Saving Superheroes exemplify what it means to do our own individual parts to contribute to a conservation-minded energy grid that is resilient to the difficulties of climate change.”
The city of San José, and San José Clean Energy, signed up 3,505 new users – more than 1% of all households in San José – to save energy and protect California’s grid. To build on San José residents’ success in contributing to citywide energy savings, local San José students will be awarded 10 micro-scholarships worth $5,000 each through the San José Aspires, which this $50,000 award will fund.
“The City Energy Challenge shows us what can be accomplished with a clear objective and incentives,” said Cisco DeVries, CEO of OhmConnect. “San José is a shining example of what we want to see across California: residents using energy more strategically so that they save money while alleviating stress on our grid. Enabling everyone to easily do their part is how we’ll achieve a clean energy future.”
Although California’s grid operator issued eight Flex Alerts this summer — the most in one year since 2006 — there were zero rolling blackouts, thanks in part to the conservation efforts of OhmConnect users in San José and throughout the state. OhmConnect users saved more than 1.5 GW of electricity this summer to relieve stress on the grid – the equivalent of taking nearly 1 million homes off the grid for an hour.
To highlight the importance of energy efficiency, Mayor Liccardo issued a proclamation declaring “Energy Efficiency Day” in San José.
“We’re thrilled to learn that the Energy Saving’s Superhero Award will provide more scholarships for students in the SJ Aspires program,” said Jill Bourne, City Librarian. “Since SJ Aspires launched in 2019, a total of 856 local high school students have claimed 3,799 micro-scholarships. This award will help us continue to break down financial barriers for students and help them realize their dream of obtaining a post-secondary education.”
Mayor Sam Liccardo launched SJ Aspires in partnership with the San José Public Library and the San José Public Library Foundation. SJ Aspires began as a way to reduce financial and informational barriers preventing low-income youth in San José from attending college. The program uses a unique system of task-oriented micro-scholarships that align with the students’ college-going or post graduation decisions and actions.
