The Night the Lights Went Out in Albertson's

Albertson's, Inc., the Boise, Idaho-based chain of supermarkets and drug stores, said it will add Oregon and Washington to its six-month-old energy conservation plan. The voluntary plan involves dimming lights in the stores by 50 percent. In early January, the company initiated its plan in all of its California food and drug stores, including Sav-On. The company has said that the power down in the three states is expected to make approximately 500 megawatt hours available every day, enough daily energy for 18,000 households.

“If reducing our power usage will help avoid blackouts and keep rates low,” said Scott Moore, Albertson's director of energy management and procurement, “by all means we will do our part to help ensure the residents of these states can keep the lights on. We want to be part of the solution — not the problem.”

The new three-state policy is an extension of one begun in August, when the company started dimming the lights in its California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Nevada stores for six hours at night. It said it has saved 20,000 megawatts hours. With the latest extension into Washington and Oregon, more than 900 Albertson's stores are involved in the program. The retailer said it is currently reviewing similarly expansive programs for its Idaho and Nevada stores.