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Roseville Electric purchased this four-story building in December 2019 . The utility plans to occupy a portion of the space in late 2021 .
A renewed focus
While large retailers across the nation and here in Roseville have seen a jump in sales during the pandemic , our small to medium business customers are struggling to keep their doors open . To assist customers facing financial hardship , we have created a number of programs for our commercial customers .
According to data from Applied Geographic Solutions and GIS Planning 2019 , nearly 83 % of Roseville businesses have less than 10 employees .
It was important to dig in quickly and identify ways to help our struggling business partners . That led to a new program called Reopen Energy Smart , consisting of energy-efficiency rebates up to 200 % above normal levels .
“ It is imperative that we focus on our small to medium business community , especially now as they struggle to keep their doors open during this second round of restrictions ,” said Mark Riffey , senior program manager at Roseville Electric .
The first phase of Reopen Energy Smart , which launched in August 2020 , focused on enhanced rebates . In an effort to assist this customer segment , especially a number of the restaurants , rebate levels were increased for a variety of measures including smart thermostats , HVAC tune ups , LED lighting and food service equipment . In the first three months , we approved 20 applications for over $ 82,000 in rebates .
The second phase includes a no-cost audit and direct install program to keep monthly electric costs down for our small to medium business customers . That launched in mid-November with a goal of assisting roughly 100 customers .
Preparing for the future
Even though the future is unclear in regard to what the pandemic means for our community , we are growing and Roseville Electric is preparing to meet the needs associated with that evolution .
Since 1987 , Roseville Electric Utility has been located in the same building . In over 20 years , our utility system , number of customers and space needs have increased significantly .
With growth and increased customer convenience in mind , we started looking seriously at a vacant four-story building located in downtown Roseville that had been unoccupied for nearly five years .
In December 2019 , the owner approached the city about purchasing the building . With the anticipated needs of our utility and growing customer base , the purchase made perfect sense for Roseville Electric .
The building purchase allows us to have a one-stop shop for all utility customer needs , improving customer service , access and efficiency . We expect to occupy the building in late 2021 .
In addition to convenience , we hope to expand our reach to better serve commercial customers
with a demonstration space and businessfocused webinars and workshops .
Moving forward
In the year ahead , we plan to launch a phase three of our Reopen Energy Smart program and identify additional opportunities for our small to medium business community . These efforts will be balanced with anticipated growth in industry and a focused effort on marketing what Roseville has to offer to new businesses looking to make Northern California their home .
While the long-term impacts of this pandemic remain uncertain , Roseville Electric is focused on being more than a utility and instead a partner for businesses and residents alike . Our goal stays the same – serving our customers in the most efficient , reliable and cost effective way possible .
Because , together , we are Roseville .
Laura Matteoli is the economic development director for the City of Roseville . She can be reached at ( 916 ) 774-5284 or lmatteoli @ roseville . ca . us .
Erin Frye is the communications and marketing manager at Roseville Electric Utility in California .
She can be reached at ( 916 ) 774-5625 or EVFrye @ roseville . ca . us .
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