The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, a nonprofit research group in Washington, D.C., has recognized local energy providers’ Conserve and Save as an “exemplary program” in a national awards program to honor America’s leading energy efficiency programs.

Conserve and Save is a partnership between Austin Utilities, Owatonna Public Utilities and the nonprofit Center for Energy and Environment. Programs selected for this honor were judged for their effectiveness and innovation in helping customers achieve greater levels of energy efficiency in their homes, businesses and industries.

Since the end of 2009, Austin Utilities and Owatonna Public Utilities have offered educational energy workshops for homeowners to engage the community save energy and money in their homes. More than 400 households participated in these workshops. Homeowners were then able to schedule energy audits to learn even more about how their homes’ use energy and what they can do to save.

For information about Austin Utilities and the Conserve & Save programs, visit austinutilities.com.