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GREEN HOUSING
Pendleton Housing

SAVING

ELECTRICITY

nergy conservation has become a matter of mission-readiness in the group and takes The Resident Energy Conservation Program
for Marine Corps installations. Simply stated, improving the average, adding (RECP) has worked to decrease energy us-
Eenergy efficiency aboard military installations allows the 10 percent above and age at military installations beyond Camp
service to maximize funding available for investment in future below as buffers, de- Pendleton. Here, Tonya Middleton,
operational capabilities. But at the core of “going green” is the termining this as the wife of Lt. Col. Brian Middleton, 3rd
motivation to reduce both greenhouse gases and dependence Normal Usage Band. Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, discusses
on foreign oil. All unoccupied homes the program with Andrew Killion, regional
MCB Camp Pendleton in California remains in the energy- are removed from that and national energy manager, Lincoln Mili-
conservation ethos forefront by integrating new green technol- calculation. tary Housing, during an open forum at
MCAGCC Twentynine Palms, Calif.
ogy and education for service members on the job, as well as A home that ex- (Official Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Levi Schultz)
for families in base housing. ceeds the Normal
In recent years, the Department of the Navy embraced the Usage Band will pay
energy-conservation concept for all Navy and Marine Corps only for the overage and not for its full energy use. It is a large
housing units. savings when considering what families pay for utilities living
In 2012, Marines and their families living on Camp Pend- off-base. Basic Allowance for Housing use is up to the service
leton were introduced to the Department of the Navy’s Resi- member and the choices they decide to make about where
dent Energy Conservation Program (RECP). Engineers began and how they live. Fortunately, many service members are
re-wiring all of the neighborhoods for individual billing and proving to make better choices when it comes to energy use.
residents began receiving mock bills from Yes Energy that Families who are 10 percent below the Normal Band re-
showed their energy usage. The goal of the program was to ceive a credit and each time it reaches $25 in savings, they
reduce energy usage in public-private venture housing at Camp can elect to have the company write them a check for $25.
Pendleton currently managed by Lincoln Military Housing “They can also leave it and let it ride until they elect to draw
and Hunt Companies. it whenever they want to,” he said. “Some people let it ride
So how did RECP aim to meet this goal? In general terms, their whole time in housing and worked hard and were very
the program helps incentivize families to make better energy energy conscious, and got a good check in the end when they
choices while living on base by charging for excessive energy moved out.”
use and giving rebates to those living more energy-efficiently. With billing now live in most housing areas aboard Camp
However, in an effort to be fair to all families and not com- Pendleton, base residents are reducing energy use up to 32
pare apples to oranges, RECP categorizes homes into what is percent. An average of 66 percent of families fell at or under
referred to as Like Type Groups. These groupings are based the Normal Usage Band, many receiving rebates. Not only
on factors like square footage, what year the home was built does their contribution to energy conservation fall right in line
and the type of home that was being grouped. This way, a with the broader Marine Corps energy-conservation ethos,
large four-bedroom single-family home is not compared with they can also enjoy a great break on their utility bills.
a smaller two-bedroom duplex. These savings extend beyond individual families, and
“We rolled it out, and we have been under the RECP now benefit neighborhoods by allowing for more appliance up-
for a few years,” said Robert E. Marshall, director of Fam- dates in individual homes, as well as communities by putting
ily Housing. “It is a program that has proven to be fruitful money into playgrounds, basketball courts, swimming pools
in ways that people are a lot more conscious, and turn off and community centers.
electricity. When they leave the home, a lot of them turn Since Yes Energy began monitoring individual home-energy
the lights off instead of leaving it on like before when there use in 2012, the average amount of kilowatt usage per month
wasn’t anything in place to hold any level of accountability has gone from 700 to under 600 across all Like Type Groups.
for energy conservation.” Marines, sailors and their families are not only saving money,
To ensure reasonable energy-use expectations are set among they are contributing significantly to a greener footprint.
the Like Type Groups, RECP measures the usage of all homes —MCH

APRIL 2017 | MILITARY CLUB & HOSPITALITY 33