The debate over how to provide more power to energy-strapped southwestern Connecticut rages on, but some communities are looking for a shorter-term solution and, in doing so, are finding some significant savings in cost and environmental impact.

The mayor of Stamford earlier this week announced that an energy savings program started in 1998 has resulted in an annual savings of $342,000 in electric bills, or more than 3.6 million kilowatt hours per year.

Stamford started its energy savings program about six years ago through a partnership with the federal program Rebuild America.

“Obviously, we wanted to cut some costs,” said Mayor Dannel P. Malloy about why the city started the program.

But southwestern Connecticut’s energy problems also played into the decision, he said. The infrastructure there has long been insufficient to provide the power necessary for one of the most developed areas of the state, and there has been debate over a plan to upgrade power lines there.

“I’m trying to move the Stamford community in the direction … of [conserving] the electricity we do have available,” he said.

And Stamford’s stance has made the city something of a role model. Stamford was one of the first communities to form a partnership with Rebuild America, according to Connecticut Office of Policy and Management Planning Specialist John Ruckes, who is the program’s Connecticut representative. Since then, 29 other communities have formed partnerships with the program.

The U.S. Department of Energy launched Rebuild America in 1994 to create partnerships with communities that want to save energy, improve building performance and ease air pollution by reducing energy demands, according to the program’s Web site. The program started in Connecticut in 1997, Ruckes said.

Rebuild America provides technical assistance and often money to communities trying to improve their energy consumption. The program started with $150,000 in seed money, Ruckes said. Since then, some communities have benefited from partnerships with other programs that work with Rebuild America, such as Clean Cities, which encourages the use of alternative fuels in cities’ fleets of vehicles, Ruckes said. Many communities have benefited from grants from other agencies.

“The idea is to provide some seed money,” he said.

It’s difficult to calculate exactly how much money Rebuild America’s efforts have saved in energy costs because participating cities and towns don’t always report back to the program, Ruckes said. But since the program launched in Connecticut, Rebuild America and its partners have completed $33 million worth of projects, which have saved – to the best of Ruckes’ knowledge – $6.2 million in energy costs. Some of the bigger projects have been in Stamford, New Haven, West Haven and Fairfield.

Of the 30 partnerships the program has undertaken, about half of them have been very successful, Ruckes said. Cities and towns that have made a commitment to the program have seen the most benefits, he said.

“We really want a real commitment,” he said.

‘A Lot More to Do’

Stamford started its energy savings program with money from Rebuild America. The city funded and hired an energy engineer with that first grant. Since then, the city has made improvements on its Government Center, an ice rink, the Police Department, many fire stations and other city buildings.

Stamford’s latest project was at the vehicle maintenance building at 100 Magee Ave., according to a release from the city.

“The mayor had noticed a year ago that that this facility had old, inefficient lights and asked me to get them replaced,” said Nancy Domiziano, an energy/utility technician for the city, in a prepared statement.

Domiziano found out later that the Connecticut Light & Power Co. would help fund the improvements.

“I was ecstatic, to say the least,” said the facility’s supervisor, Michael E. Ross, in a prepared statement. “And as work began on the new lighting, I immediately noticed a major difference from what we had before.”

The facility’s old lighting fixtures are being replaced with high-efficiency fixtures, according to the release.

The upgrade cost $51,799 and annual energy savings will be about $13,500 a year. The first year’s savings will be enough to pay for the 25 percent of the cost that the city contributed, according to the release.

The city’s work on energy efficiency isn’t over yet, Malloy said.

“We have a lot more to do,” he said.

The city is exploring energy-saving steps like using co-generation – which is when a building uses excess energy, like heat, to help power itself – and fuel cell possibilities, Malloy said.

“The city of Stamford will continue to invest in energy efficiency, alternative energy resources, green buildings and smart growth,” Malloy said in a prepared statement.

Another of the latest partnerships Rebuild America has undertaken is in Norwalk. The city’s school district teamed up with the program in October and is working on projects in nearly all of the district’s schools. The district is installing energy-efficient boilers and burners and putting in new windows that will conserve heat, said the school district’s Chief Operating Officer Stuart Opdahl. Rebuild America found $35,000 in grants to contribute to the school’s boiler project, Opdahl said. The entire project cost $270,000.

Opdahl came across Rebuild America several years ago when he was working in the Oxford Public Schools and that school district formed a partnership with the program, he said. Norwalk’s school district similarly needs some grant money to work on some of its projects. A partnership with Rebuild America also helps communities and school districts find more federal grant money, Opdahl said.

“I like the idea,” he noted.

The school district is not yet done with its improvements, he said. Some of the renovations are under way now, while some are still in the design phase. But even after finishing those projects, the district will continue exploring ways to conserve energy and cut its heating and electricity bills, Opdahl said.

“We’re looking at everything,” he said.

The district will soon be looking for money to put solar panels on the roof of the high school, Opdahl said.