A story on the front page of the May 21, 2024, edition of the East Bay Times about the Schneider Electric energy-efficient project for Mt. Diablo Unified School District was unclear about the doubling of project costs from 2022 to 2023. The increased project costs approved by the school board in March 2023 were for a separate scope of work than the original work approved in May 2022. Furthermore, Schneider Electric was selected through a competitive process, but the total project price for the construction phase of the project was not part of the selection process and was not agreed to until after the district contracted with Schneider.
Stories published July 18, Oct. 7 and Nov. 22 indicated that energy savings from Schneider’s Mt. Diablo project were low following the first year after the completion of the first phase of construction. The committee member referencing the number at the board meeting mistook energy consumption trends previously presented by Schneider for energy savings figures. Schneider’s projections for year-one savings start after both phases of the project are complete. The Oct. 7 story also incorrectly stated that Schneider Electric reneged on an agreement to hire only local labor. Schneider Electric’s contract does not require it to hire local labor. The Nov. 22 story incorrectly reported staff comments regarding the availability of maintenance electricians to work on non-Schneider-related issues.
