The utility bills are adding up at Galina Breeze Hotel. Even when the hotel is all but closed, the electric bills are rising. After looking at the actual monthly bill, almost 50% of the bill charges are what Americans would call “junk fees and service charges”.
Thanks to a generous donor, we are on our way to ending our dependency on utility companies and moving to solar energy. Right now, we have installed two sections of solar panels to the hotel, partially taking us off the grid. The first is for our pool pump. With the sun and solar, we are running our pool pump during the day without the utility electricity. Next, we have 40 panels running our office, kitchen and conference rooms up top. When another 50 panels are finished being installed, we will be almost completely off grid for Galina Breeze, short of lithium battery backup.
What does all this mean? First, it means that all the money we have been paying JPS, our utility company, will now go directly into keeping our Nationals employed. Currently, we are down 50% of our employee levels and trying to keep our friends working at least two days a week. Secondly, by reducing our electric bills, we will be self-sustaining and will not have to worry about who controls our costs in keeping the lights on.
When ACE asks for help, God knows our needs and brings people into the picture who understand that need and respond. Thank you, friends, for keeping people working. Currently, our short fall is Lithium batteries for night; they are expensive and we need many to avoid using the utility company as backup. We are still asking God to supply funds for those, and once we have that, we hope to be fully sustainable by the end of the year at GB. And you know what that means, right? Yes, more air conditioning for our volunteers! We might even turn the AC on at 8pm vs 9pm!
TRIP COST
There is an old proverb, “If you give a man a fish, he’ll eat for a day, but if you teach a man to fish, he’ll eat for a lifetime.” History proves that lasting change in a poverty culture is achieved by empowering the people to reach their full potential and become self-sustaining. ACE is invested in our community long-term and in conjunction with our partners in the US, we are identifying the circumstances of those around us in order to find real solutions for their unique needs.