December 7, 1973
Page 40167
ENERGY CONSERVATION IN MAINE
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, in recent weeks I have had numerous conversations with Maine citizens concerning the steps which they are taking individually to deal with the fuel shortage. I am constantly impressed with the degree of commitment and ingenuity which people are demonstrating in specific energy conservation measures applied to their daily activities.
I would like to share with my colleagues the steps being taken by one businessman, Mr. Arnold Sturtevant of Livermore Falls, Maine. As president of the Livermore Falls Trust Co., Mr. Sturtevant has instituted an energy conservation "bonus" plan for the bank's employees which I think others might wish to copy in their businesses and communities.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that an article in the Livermore Falls Advertiser, describing the conservation plan, be printed in the RECORD.
There being no objection, the article was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:
L. F. TRUST TO INITIATE ENERGY-SAVING HOURS AND EMPLOYEES BONUS PLAN
If you find Livermore Falls Trust a little darker and a little cooler – in temperature, not friendliness, that is – then you are experiencing the results of that bank's energy conservation program.
The bank has undertaken some rather unusual measures that it expects will result in substantial savings of fuel and electricity in the months ahead.
Turning back the thermostat, switching off lights and paying its employees an "energy bonus"– based on the actual savings that result – are just a few of the ways that this Maine banking, institution hopes to do its part in conserving the nation's critically short energy supply.
The most unique aspect of the bank's program is its bonus plan. To arouse a greater awareness of the crisis – and to promote individual participation in helping to solve that crisis – the bank will pay its employees a bonus of $2.00 for every $1.00 of fuel and electrical costs saved. (The measure of savings will be determined by applying the unit costs for fuel and electricity to the actual kilowatt hours and gallons of fuel saved over normal operation. Although energy conservation will thus end up costing the bank twice as much as the cost of energy, its management considers it a worthwhile contribution to the solving of a true national emergency; and it feels that this incentive to economize at work can't help but result in beneficial carryover to each employee's home life.
Arnold Sturtevant, president of the bank, reports that employees are enthusiastically participating in the incentive program – already having found ways to cut over 18,000 watts from the institution's normal illumination needs; and a 20 per cent cut in commuting mileage will present added opportunities for conservation of gasoline.
In addition, the bank has announced a new energy-saving schedule of operations. New hours will allow it to run its furnaces and lights less while, at the same time, providing just as many hours of service to the public. This savings will be accomplished by closing its main office lobby on Mondays and adding the normal hours that it is open on that day to the remaining days of the week.
Bank management states that it has been demonstrated that significant energy savings can be effected by closing its main office lobby for three consecutive days (Saturday through Monday).
Starting the first week of December, its main lobby will be open to the public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. (It has normally closed at 3 p.m. on Tuesday through Thursday.)
The bank's main office drive-ups and walkup windows will continue to be open every weekday afternoon until 5 p.m. and Saturday morning from 9 a.m. until noon. However, to help compensate for the lost Monday hours in the main lobby, these facilities will extend their hours to include Monday mornings – operating 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on that day. The bank felt this added service would be especially useful to those businesses that need bank services after each weekend. These drive-in and walk-up service facilities can be operated with little expenditure of fuel and electricity, as they are separately heated and are compact self-contained units.
Livermore Falls Trust's branches in Jay and Chisholm have been on a Tuesday through Saturday schedule for several years; and their hours will remain unchanged. The bank's Family Finance Center, considered a part of the main office will now be closed on Monday; but, like the rest of the main office, it will be open from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. on other weekdays (expanding from its former hours). In addition, the Family Finance Center will continue its past practice of accepting appointments for Saturday mornings.
Sturtevant says that he is sure that these measures will result in significant energy savings, undertaken in voluntary compliance with the President's request for all Americans to make a sincere effort to conserve scarce resources; and he fully expects that many others – both businesses and individuals – will be increasingly involved in doing their part.