BUTLER TWP — Butler County Community College will receive $20,000 for participating in a program to reduce energy use in emergencies.

The college received the first of four checks recently from ClearChoice Energy.

As a principal user of energy in the community, BC3 contracted with ClearChoice's Demand and Response program in May and agreed to turn power off in the event of an energy emergency.

"It's a win-win situation." said Jim Hrabosky, vice president of finance. "It helps the environment and allows the power grid operator to control electricity demand in times of crisis. It's also good for business; the college is paid for the energy savings."

This summer, BC3 did two tests and worked out details on the main campus in Butler to shut down the power for four hours in the Science, Technology and Cultural Center and the field house. The college informed faculty and staff with e-mail notices when the planned outages would occur. Both voluntary outages occurred in the late afternoon when few classes were in session with a minimal impact on students and college operations.