Lodi Utilities Selected to Participate in “Save to Give” Challenge

The City of Lodi and Bayfield County are the first two communities selected to participate in Focus on Energy’s “Save to Give” Challenge.

Save to Give engages Lodi Utilities customers in fun, community-building activities that conserve energy in their homes. The challenge will help residents save money on energy bills while also supporting a local charity—Save (energy) to Give (to a charity). Participating residents will learn and adopt no- and low-cost energy actions. Progress will be tracked through a web portal on a phone, tablet, or computer. Each time participants track an energy action, they will earn points toward the community charity. When enough residents participate and accrue points by saving energy, Focus on Energy will donate up to $25,000 to a local charity selected by Lodi residents.

Planning meetings with local leaders and stakeholders will take place in late 2020 with the official launch occurring in 2021. There will be an opportunity to determine which local charity will benefit in the initial planning meetings. Mayor Ann Groves Lloyd will kick off the initiative with a feature on her bi-weekly YouTube live stream, “The View from 202.” Tune in for more information.

“There couldn’t be a more perfect fit than the Save to Give Challenge in Lodi,” said Mayor Ann Groves Lloyd. “The residents in Lodi are environmentally conscious and community minded. This challenge gives them an opportunity to save energy and money in their own homes while generating donations for a local charity.”

Available exclusively to rural communities, Lodi Utilities was selected from many applications to participate in this unique program. Special attributes of Lodi that stood out to application reviewers include an engaged and charitable community, the city’s proximity to and appreciation of natural beauty, and the public schools’ STEAM labs. These characteristics combined made the community an ideal candidate.

“Save to Give is an innovative idea that’s right in line with our goals,” said Focus on Energy Director Erinn Monroe-Nye. “We’re hoping that the extra motivation to help a local organization will inspire some easy, lasting changes in energy usage that will benefit residents financially, reduce waste and benefit the organizations that mean so much to rural Wisconsin.”

For more information about the Save to Give Challenge, visit Focus on Energy’s website at focusonenergy.com/savetogive.