FOLLOWING MAYOR’S DIRECTIVE, LAWA TAKES STEPS TO ADDRESS ENERGY CRISIS; REDUCES GATEWAY LAX PYLON LIGHTING BY 61 PERCENT
(Los Angeles, California – January 23, 2001) In response to Mayor Richard J. Riordan’s executive directive, officials at Los Angeles International Airport announced that beginning tonight, the Gateway LAX pylon lights along the airport’s Century Boulevard entryway will be illuminated for only 5-1/2 hours each night during the current energy crisis. The current daily schedule of illumination from 5:00 pm to 7:00 am will be curtailed to 6:30 pm to 12:00 midnight – a 61 percent reduction.
This action is one of many measures Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) is taking in response to an executive directive issued by Mayor Riordan instructing all City departments to be "both good neighbors and responsible citizens by using energy wisely and conserving whenever possible."
Airport officials also want to assure the traveling public that because the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is its electricity supplier, there is ample supply of affordable energy. The reduced schedule also takes into account DWP’s evening peak hours of 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm and begins after this peak period.
In addition, operation of airports is considered an essential service (similar to police, fire, and hospital services). LAWA’s primary concern is the public safety of passengers, visitors and employees at these facilities.
In order to ensure safe and efficient operations at our airports, LAWA has long had comprehensive emergency action plans in existence to respond to emergencies, such as natural disasters, power outages, and aircraft incidents. Los Angeles World Airports is well-prepared to respond to the current energy crisis.
LAWA’s airports are considered among the "greenest" or environmentally sensitive airports in the United States. Major ongoing energy-conservation programs exist covering the facilities design, selection and use of building materials, "turn-off-the-lights" campaigns, and use of electricity generated from "green power" sources such as solar, wind, hydropower, geothermal, and biomass energy. An on-site Central Utility Plant at LAX includes an energy-saving co-generation system, which simultaneously generates electricity and steam. The steam provides heating and air conditionin (by powering steam refrigeration chillers) for buildings in LAX’s Central Terminal Area. The airport actually sells $3 million of electricity to its supplier, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
In accordance to the Mayor’s directive, LAWA has a team of specialists from its environmental management, engineering, and maintenance staffs studying additional energy-conservation measures that are expected to be implemented in the near future.
