By Kathryn Kretschmer-Weyland
January 16, 2006

As Americans prepare for extreme winter temperatures this season and increased electricity consumption by schools, hi-tech financial, health-care and transportation centers, the threat of widespread power outages, along with the accompanying economic losses, looms large. The Washington Post recently reported the power grid in the DC region, is also vulnerable to a complete failure. The result of which would not only clamp businesses, hospitals and federal agencies downtown but also trigger an environmental challenge by due to the nearby Blue Plains waste treatment plant in Southeast that would ultimately send tons of raw sewage into the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay.

Conference of Mayors Partner Pareto Energy, Ltd. has worked with cities, small countries and several multinational utilities on new energy efficiencies, renewable energy and on'site power project strategic planning to prevent such problems from happening. Under the leadership of President and CEO Guy Warner, Pareto Energy recognized the need for more reliable energy, developed and trademarked EIDs (Energy Improvement Districts) that will ultimately produce more efficient energy systems. Recognizing the benefits of partnering with Conference of Mayors, he developed the concept of EIDs, which are very similar to Business Improvement Districts.

Many argue that the environmental concerns about emissions (most electricity is generated from the burning of coal, natural and diesel gas) prohibit developing any new plants that could be locally controlled near the growing urban areas most in need. In the 1980’s, concerned businesses organized and challenged county officials about how their business taxes were being spent. The businesses in several cities, including New York, Philadelphia and Washington (DC), had tired of the unprecedented crime, trash and poverty that were permeating city streets. In each town, businesses advocated for a focused downtown development strategies that stood in sharp contrast to the common municipal planning of the day. The business groups created Business Improvement Districts (BID) where they were assessed a separate tax upon all commercial enterprises located in a certain geographical area. The money collected say from all the businesses in a certain 10-block area was then returned to the BID to spend as they saw fit without civil service rules or red tape.

Most BIDs agreed to hire private clean-up and security crews that made noteworthy progress keeping streets, corners and gutters clean, as well as offering directions and a sense of security to areas like New York City’s Times Square, Philadelphia’s Center City and DC’s K Street business corridor. There are now more than 2,000 BIDs in 42 states across the country.

That same concept can also be applied to our nation’s commercial energy crisis by creating EIDs in those same areas particularly those that are desperately looking to widen their economic expansion and meet the demands of increased energy consumption. Thus, the large national grid would be used as an auxiliary for the smaller micro-grids that could be focused around locally operated generators that cheaper and cleaner running. If anything, micro-grids can inject power into the larger grid, which lessens stress on the overall systems and helps maintain local service quality.

This idea is already being tested in Stamford (CT), Las Vegas, Chicago and some other twenty cities across the country and Latin America that need additional power to accelerate several pending development projects. In each instance, a new smaller electric power distribution system is being created and operated by taxes generated by those businesses enrolled in the district.

Like business improvement districts that sparked a renaissance in several major cities, the EID impetus must come from real estate developers, property owners, merchants, downtown associations and from within local governments that demand a way to examine a new approach to finding the most cost-friendly means of powering the heat, lights and modern electronics of offices, hospitals, homes schools, restaurants and warehouses.

The pace of new development in our nation’s redeveloping cities and burgeoning business centers is explicably linked to the amount of available energy.

Given the magnitude and economic importance of the $75 billion commercial energy market, the answer to these problem seem to lie with the development of increased cost-effective and energy efficient solutions in order to enhance the effectiveness of the nation’s electricity delivery systems. Reliance on electrical power that is produced from distant power plants over a grid will face an inevitable capacity limit.

“As Pareto and cities work on this concept together, and get to the heart of the real problem with a real solution, it can only provide our nation’s cities with a more reliable and efficient power grid that result in greater productivity for businesses and residents alike. This is a problem that can be fixed,” said Warner.

For more information about Pareto Energy, contact Kathryn Kretschmer-Weyland at The United States Conference of Mayors headquarters at 301-450-5251, or send e-mail to kweyland@usmayors.org. Or you can visit Pareto Energy’s website www.paretoenergy.com