What began in 1971 as two guys selling frozen lemonade from the back of a truck has become a much larger business, with 23 restaurants and more than 600 employees.
eegee’s, with a robust menu of sandwiches, fries and frozen fruit beverages, values saving energy and money. So when Tucson Electric Power offered its owners an incentive to upgrade to energy-efficient lighting, they were eager to participate.
By replacing 2,000 T-12 fluorescent light bulbs with energy-efficient T-8 bulbs, eegee’s now uses 200,000 kilowatt-hours less each year, saving the business about $25,000 in energy costs annually.
Improved LED exterior lighting has attracted more customers and has increased nighttime sales.
“With an $11,000 EasySave program rebate from TEP and annual energy savings from the high-efficiency lighting, we expect our investment to pay back in just two years. That makes good business sense,” said Robert Jensen, President of eegee’s.
The TEP EasySave program, which provides incentives for all businesses that install or upgrade lighting, AC/HVAC, motors, thermostats, occupancy sensors and more, is available throughout TEP’s service territory.
“It was the right thing to do for the environment, and we’re saving money,” Jensen said. “It’s a win-win situation.”
In 1987, eegee’s began an aggressive recycling program and has found ways to recycle virtually everything used in the business. Each year, eegee’s recycles approximately 50,000 French fry boxes, 2 million pounds of cardboard, 10,000 plastic buckets, canola oil from the fryers, scrap metal from obsolete equipment, scrap paper in the office and more.
The money generated from the recycling effort goes toward a program that eegee’s calls “Green for Green.” These dollars are given to eegee’s’ hourly employees in August to help them purchase back-to-school supplies for their families.
Watch a video about TEP’s partnership with eegee’s on YouTube.
To learn more about TEP energy-efficiency rebates and incentives available for your business, contact TEP’s EasySave team at 520-495-6333 or visit tepcommercialenergysolutions.com.
