FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Rich Beck, Lee County Facilities Management
              (239) 335-2255

COUNTY ENERGY SAVINGS RECOGNIZED BY TECO ENERGY SERVICES

FORT MYERS, Fla. (September 24, 2004) - Lee County's push to save $100,000 per year through a conversion to gas boilers is being recognized by TECO Energy Services.

TECO will award the county a $4,000 check at a presentation today at 1:30 p.m., 4th floor of the Community Development/Public Works Building, 1500 Monroe St. in downtown Fort Myers.

The check is one of the first tangible results of the county's new energy initiative and is being awarded for converting the old electric boilers in the Justice Center to gas power. The rebate was available and discovered by Facilities Management employee Marco Dano during a meeting with TECO about routing gas lines to the Jail kitchen.

The rebate stems from an energy conservation program TECO Peoples Gas System instituted and had approved several years ago by the Florida Public Service Commission.

The conservation program enables Lee County Government to receive up to $40 per KW displaced per project with natural gas. In this project, the Lee County Government Justice Center was trying to heat domestic hot water and reheat water with a chiller. Not only was the chiller not effective, it was costing Lee County well over $250,000 a year to operate. By replacing the chiller with natural gas boilers the county will save approximately $100,000 per year in energy cost.

With the replacement, TECO Peoples Gas System has issued an Energy Conservation Allowance of $4,000, further saving the County with the installation of natural gas at the Justice Center.