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Cypress Ltd. Awarded PG&E Contract to Shift Peak Power Using Ice Energy Technology

Posted on: Thursday, 1 November 2007, 12:00 CDT

WINDSOR, Colo., Nov. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Ice Energy(R) and Cypress Ltd. today announced that Cypress Ltd. has been awarded a contract for the deployment of Ice Energy's Ice Bear(R) hybrid air conditioner systems under PG&E's new 'Shift and Save' program. Under the terms of the contract, qualifying community colleges and new and existing commercial, retail, and government projects in PG&E territory can receive rebates and may achieve ongoing savings on electricity bills. In total, the Ice Bear deployment will permanently shift an estimated 2.7 megawatts (MW) of electricity used for cooling to off-peak hours when power is more plentiful and less polluting.

"Mid-day in summer looks like rush hour on much of California's power grid. The Ice Bear system is of particular importance and benefit to PG&E customers as we prepare for those high-traffic days," said Frank Ramirez, CEO of Ice Energy. "In addition to lowering bills for participating customers, the system helps secure a sustainable energy future for California and has a positive impact on the environment through significantly reducing carbon dioxide emissions."

Ice Energy's Ice Bear unit efficiently shifts more than 95 percent of air conditioning electricity consumption to off-peak hours while maintaining a cool and comfortable indoor environment. The unit runs at maximum efficiency at night to create and store the capacity to provide air-conditioned comfort the next day.

In addition to receiving a rebate based on kilowatts shifted, participating customers can generate savings if they are billed on one of PG&E's Time-of-Use rates that reward customers for reduced peak power consumption.

Specialists in delivering utility efficiency for end-user markets, Cypress Ltd. will offer Ice Bear units under a contract awarded by PG&E. "Ice Energy's technology consistently reduces the peak power load by targeting the biggest consumer of peak power -- air-conditioning," said Tom Smolarek, president of Cypress Ltd. "PG&E's selection of Cypress Ltd. within the 'Shift and Save' initiative is part of a growing number of utilities that contract with Cypress Ltd. to design and manage their efficiency and energy demand programs." The Cypress Customer Service Center will handle customer sign-up, rebate disbursement, and all reporting necessary for the utility management.

The Vice Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, Dr. Tod Burnett, has been influential in working with the CPUC to develop incentives to enable community colleges to implement innovative energy solutions. "It's the power of the program that enables community colleges to reduce peak power consumption while allowing us to focus on education rather than electricity costs," said Dr. Burnett. "With the help of the 'Shift and Save' program, we can shift critical consumption to off-peak hours, which not only provides much-needed assistance in easing grid-strain, it also supports the environmental sustainability goals of our community colleges."

About Ice Energy, Inc.

Ice Energy(R) is an energy technology company focused on energy storage and advanced hybrid cooling and refrigeration products and technologies. The company manufactures and markets the Ice Bear(R) hybrid air conditioner product line for residential and commercial applications that addresses the increasing demand for electricity. Ice Energy's products shift the largest component of residential and commercial peak demand -- air conditioning -- from expensive "on-peak" times of the day to "off-peak" periods, when energy is less expensive and less polluting. Approved as an optional compliance measure for California's Title 24 building energy efficiency standards, the Ice Bear(R) system provides superior cooling comfort while significantly reducing the cost of energy. For more information visit http://www.ice-energy.com/ or call 877-542-3232.

Ice Energy and Ice Bear are registered trademarks of Ice Energy, Inc. About Cypress Ltd.

Based in Coto de Caza, CA, CYPRESS LTD integrates an in-depth understanding of end-use markets and value-chains to support electric, gas, and water utilities in their efforts to motivate customers to adopt efficient behaviors and technologies. Offering a full line of consulting and administrative capabilities from program design through 24/7 customer service, CYPRESS LTD supports the highest possible participation rates, the greatest cost effectiveness and cost recovery, and efficient resource deployments that results in optimal public perception and enhanced brand image. CYPRESS LTD will be responsible for administering $6 million of the $10 million allotted to PG&E for the "Shift and Save" program. They will also provide the marketing, administrative and online 'dashboard' to help monitor and measure the program's success.

For more information visit http://www.cyp-res.com/ or for program info visit http://www.coolenergyonline.com/ or call 877.811.8700.

Ice Energy, Inc.

CONTACT: Alanna Gino of Antenna Group, +1-415-977-1918,Alanna@antennagroup.com, for Ice Energy, Inc.; or Jen Pennington of RhizomeDesign, +1-206-937-9911, jen@rhizomedesign.com, for Cypress Ltd.

Web site: http://www.ice-energy.com/http://www.cyp-res.com/http://www.coolenergyonline.com/

Source: PRNewswire

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