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Houghton County is still in the running in the Georgetown University Energy Prize Competition.
The community that reduces their energy consumption the most will receive $5 million.
Results from the judging are expected this fall.
Houghton Energy Efficiency Team Energy Director Melissa Davis gave an update to the Houghton City Council Wednesday on the results of the two year effort to reduce energy usage.
In 2015-2016, HEET conducted 209 energy audits and did 56 volunteer home winterizations.
They also replaced 79 old inefficient refrigerators and 46 heat pump water heaters and distributed over 6,000 LED light bulbs.
Davis said during the competition period, the energy use for municipal and residential units in Houghton County went down by 13 percent.
She said that’s highly successful when compared to the state, who averages around 1 percent total for energy reduction programs.
Nearly 3,800 residents participated in some form during the two year competition, comprising 27.5 percent of all Houghton County households.
The effort to reduce energy use continues.
New Power Tour has five video interviews available on their website that they are encouraging people to watch.
The public can comment online or attend one of their monthly Energy meet ups.
