New Jersey Board of Public Utilities : Approves $800 Thousand-Plus Grant To Merck for Energy-Efficiency

For Immediate Release: January 31, 2018

Contact:

Earl Thomas Pierce [phone]

Peter Peretzman [phone]

New Jersey Board of Public Utilities Approves $800 Thousand-Plus Grant

To Merck for Energy-Efficiency

Incentive supports both energy efficiency and cost savings

Today, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) approved an $820,857 incentive for the Merck Sharpe and Dohme Corporation (Merck) to begin an energy-efficiency project at their Rahway campus. This project will consist of a compressed air system upgrade and will save Merck an estimated $294,000 annually in energy costs and an additional $50,000 annually in operational and maintenance costs. Merck's project cost is approximately $1.7 million and with the incentive, they will see a payback period of about 1.5 years and an immediate annual energy savings of 3.5 million kWh.

Merck is receiving the incentive in the form of a rebate under the Large Energy Users Program (LEUP), which is designed to promote self-investment in energy efficiency and combined heat and power projects in the state's largest commercial and industrial facilities. To qualify, eligible entities must have contributed a minimum of $200,000 into New Jersey's Clean Energy Program™ funds in fiscal year 2017. They are then reimbursed the money in the form of a grant to fund their energy-efficiency projects.

"We are pleased to award this incentive to Merck as the changes they are making to their Rahway facility go hand in hand with Governor Murphy's goal to improve the energy efficiency of our state," said BPU Commissioner Mary-Anna Holden. "The Large Energy Users Program is an excellent way of saving energy and lowering costs through a clean-energy solution. After all, the cleanest energy is the energy that is not used."

This incentive money will be put towards the total project cost of $1,732,841 to replace three existing water-cooled air compressors with three new high-efficiency air-cooled air compressorsin one of its buildings that have been appropriately sized to meet daily campus demand and minimize the amount of unneeded compressed air that is vented.

.About the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU)

The NJBPU is a state agency and regulatory authority mandated to ensure safe, adequate and proper utility services at reasonable rates for New Jersey customers. Critical services regulated by the NJBPU include natural gas, electricity, water, wastewater, telecommunications and cable television. The Board has general oversight and responsibility for monitoring utility service, responding to consumer complaints, and investigating utility accidents. To find out more about the NJBPU, visit our web site atwww.nj.gov/bpu.

About the New Jersey Clean Energy Program (NJCEP)

NJCEP, established on January 22, 2003, in accordance with the Electric Discount and Energy Competition Act (EDECA), provides financial and other incentives to the State's residential customers, businesses and schools that install high-efficiency or renewable energy technologies, thereby reducing energy usage, lowering customers' energy bills and reducing environmental impacts. The program is authorized and overseen by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU), and its website iswww.NJCleanEnergy.com.