Laughlin number one in AETC Energy Incentive Award

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Christian Ocasio
  • 47th Civil Engineer Squadron
LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  Lowering utility bills pays off big. The hard work done by Team XL has been noticed by Air Education and Training Command in the form of a cash reward.

Laughlin came in first for the AETC Energy Incentive Award Program for the third quarter fiscal year 2012. The award criteria considers both energy and water reduction compared to the last three years' average and Laughlin XL'ed by reducing energy by 12.4 percent and water by an astonishing 21.1 percent giving us a weighted score of 13.3 percent. Vance Air Force Base trailed behind with 10.8 percent and in third place Goodfellow AFB with 9.73 percent.

These top three bases were rewarded with $250,000, $150,000, and $100,000 cash prizes before the end of fiscal year 2012. This is a big improvement to the program since recognition is done on a quarterly basis. Winners can use the funds during the year of execution, rather than waiting until the end of the fiscal year.

Thanks to these extra funds, Laughlin was able to purchase 621 desktop computers valued at $254,916. This allows the base to have sufficient computers for a three-year replacement cycle in order to keep up with rapidly changing information technology requirements.

"This purchase brought the total for the wing to 1,300 units. This number will allow us to completely replace all computers purchased prior to 2009 and also replace 33 percent of the units purchased in 2009," said Jesse Atkinson, 47th Communications Squadron. "We have 2,600 units in the field on Laughlin so this means that we are going to be able to upgrade 50 percent to the newest technology available. The new units have more memory, faster processors and better video cards allowing for quicker and more efficient processing of data."

Atkinson also explained that the purchase made with the AETC Energy Incentive Award prize will further help Laughlin with its energy reduction goal.

"All of the units purchased are Energy Star compliant in contrast to the units purchased prior to 2009 which were not," said Atkinson.

Way to go Team XL, thank you for all your hard work in energy and water conservation.