Special to The Hays Daily News

A race to reduce energy use among several Kansas communities just finished the first leg.

Three months into the "Take Charge Challenge" -- a contest piloted by the Land Institute's Climate and Energy Project -- residents of six towns have changed their light bulbs, replaced appliances and weatherized their homes, according to Nancy Jackson, executive director of the Climate and Energy Project.

The focus of the contest is lowering energy costs for citizens in tough economic times. The Kansas communities and their utility companies are tracking each town's energy savings during the course of a year to see who can save the most electricity.

The community that wins the competition, which extends through April 1, will get to choose from a Kansas Wind for Schools turbine, solar panels for a civic building, or a $10,000 cash prize for an energy-efficiency project.

Communities participating in the contest are Salina, Quinter, Kinsley, Mount Hope/Haven, Wellington and Merriam.

In the first quarter, the six communities have focused on encouraging residents to switch their bulbs to energy-efficient CFLs. Salina-based Philips Lighting has designed a Web site -- takechargekan sas.org -- to track efforts.

As of Aug. 1, Quinter is in the lead for the lighting portion of the challenge, having changed 1,200 bulbs in its community.

The total lighting effort of all six towns has resulted in more than 18,000 switches to CFLs -- saving these Kansans $155,000 in electricity costs.

The six towns range in size from 40,000 residents of Salina to 800 in Quinter. Each town also has developed a unique approach to slashing energy bills.

In Kinsley and Quinter, 40 residents and small businesses have taken advantage of Midwest Energy's nationally recognized How$mart energy audit and efficiency retrofit program. Even after paying for efficiency improvements with a charge on the utility bill, typical customers still have a net lower utility bill of $100 per year.

Mount Hope and Haven are participating in the Kansas Power Pool's new appliance rebate program. KPP rewards customers for replacing their old air conditioners and refrigerators with new energy-efficient models. Mount Hope residents redeemed 15 rebates.

By replacing old appliances, the Mount Hope residents will reduce annual energy use by more than 15,000 kilowatt hours -- saving them $1,650 a year.