PORTLAND, Ore., Jan. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Fred Meyer is responding to the
joint call from Washington Governor Gary Locke and Oregon Governor John
Kitzhaber for voluntary power conservation by lowering the lights at most Fred
Meyer stores across Oregon and Washington.
The program got the green light today following a successful test this
past weekend at the South Hill Fred Meyer in Puyallup, Wash. It took about
two days of reprogramming, rewiring, and testing to convert the store to a
reduced lighting level. The company plans to expand the lighting reduction
program to 36 stores in Washington and 27 stores in Oregon over the next few
weeks where newer electrical systems make the conversions most feasible. Fred
Meyer also says it will keep looking for ways to save energy at its older
stores and at all its other operations.
"When we ran the test at our South Hill store we determined we could
reduce lighting energy use by more than 10 percent without creating problems
for customers," Ken Thrasher, president of Fred Meyer Stores, said. "We found
we can reduce energy use and still maintain our regular store hours for the
convenience of our customers and the benefit of our employees. We are putting
up signs at stores as they are converted asking our customers to support our
efforts during this energy shortage."
Conserving Energy for Many Years
Energy conservation has been an integral part of all store design and
operation at Fred Meyer for many years. "Our ongoing mission is to continue
to build and maintain the most energy-effective retail stores in our
industry," Thrasher said. "That's why we had to look for something extra to
get the added energy reduction requested by the governors."
For example, Fred Meyer has been turning off lights inside and outside its
stores for many years just after closing and keeping that lighting at reduced
levels until the next morning. "Now we are extending a version of our
nighttime reduced lighting program to the hours the stores are open," Thrasher
said. "Plus, we see opportunities for more energy savings after-hours.
Outside the stores we had been turning off all but one of the Fred Meyer
signs. Now we will turn off that last sign, as well. As for inside the
stores, we will go directly to the lowest light setting shortly after closing
and eliminate an intermediate setting we had been using."
In addition to turning off more lighting at most of its stores in Oregon
and Washington, Fred Meyer is asking employees to pay close attention to
details when it comes to energy conservation, such as turning out lights when
leaving rooms after meetings are over. The company will step up employee
education efforts to insure that the many energy conservation initiatives
already in place are followed at its stores, plants, and offices. It also
will provide employees and customers with information about how to save energy
in their homes.
Energy Use Down One-third Since 1980
Following the oil shortage and energy crisis of 1979, the company launched
energy conservation initiatives that have continued to grow in scope and
sophistication since then. As a result, Fred Meyer has reduced energy
consumption per square foot at its stores by more than one-third since 1980.
The 1980s saw many improvements in energy management controls, lighting,
refrigeration, heating, and cooling at Fred Meyer. In 1989, the company
unveiled a dramatic new store design that included energy conservation in
every part of store design and operation.
In 1998, Fred Meyer consolidated existing energy-conservation activities
into a formal Energy Partners Program to further improve coordination between
the design, construction, and operations parts of the business and improve
involvement by outside contractors in energy conservation efforts.
The company partners with utility companies in energy conservation
programs and has received awards for its efforts. For example, in 1999 Fred
Meyer received a PGE Energy Efficiency Award for refrigeration and lighting
improvements at its food distribution center in Clackamas, Ore.
"The company is committed to continue building stores and other facilities
that exceed building code requirements for energy efficiency," Thrasher said.
Fred Meyer Stores is based in Portland, Oregon and features
127 multidepartment stores in Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Idaho, and Utah that
offer one-stop shopping for a wide range of food, apparel, and general
merchandise products. Fred Meyer is part of The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), which
is the largest grocery retailer in the United States.
SOURCE Fred Meyer Stores
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Related links:
http://www.fredmeyerstores.com
CONTACT:
Rob Boley of Fred Meyer Stores, 503-797-7176
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