For 25 years, FOCUS ON ENERGY® has helped Wisconsin residents and businesses save energy and money. On September 29, 2026, the program celebrated this milestone by honoring four Energy Efficiency Champions at the Wisconsin State Capitol.
Gov. Tony Evers recognized the honorees for helping make homes more comfortable, schools more efficient, and businesses stronger. Their work shows how saving energy can improve the places where Wisconsinites live, learn, and work.
Click on a name to read the full success story.
The School District of La Crosse made classrooms more comfortable while lowering energy costs and saving taxpayer dollars. Since 2006, the district has avoided more than $10 million in energy costs.
On Site Performance Testing is a family-owned business in Chippewa Falls. It has helped more than 12,000 Wisconsin homeowners understand how their homes use energy and find ways to improve comfort, safety, and efficiency.
David Leeder has spent 40 years helping Wisconsin’s paper industry save energy. Through more than 60 projects, he has helped paper mills use less energy and lower operating costs. He has also shared his knowledge with others who will continue this work.
Kwik Trip makes energy efficiency part of how it designs, builds, and operates its facilities. Over nearly two decades, the company has completed more than 1,000 energy efficiency projects. It is also adding solar power, electric vehicle charging, and other new technologies at new stores.
These four Champions serve different communities and industries, but they share a lasting commitment to saving energy. Each has made energy efficiency part of everyday work.
“Twenty-five years of Focus on Energy is the work of many hands: the utilities that fund the program, the Trade Allies and partners who deliver it, and the customers who say yes to better ways to use energy,” said Erin Soman, Focus on Energy managing director.
Energy efficiency does not always come with a big ribbon cutting. A better pump may be deep inside a paper mill, better insulation may be tucked inside a wall, and a lighting upgrade may simply make it easier for a student to read a page of music during Band practice. But the results are noticeable: a home that feels warmer in January, a school with brighter classrooms, a business with lower costs, and equipment that runs the way it should.
Gov. Tony Evers
For a quarter century, Focus on Energy has fostered collaborative partnerships with utilities, businesses, communities, and energy experts in furtherance of its mission to empower people in Wisconsin to make smart energy decisions with enduring economic benefits.
Public Service Commission of Wisconsin Chairperson Summer Strand
From small upgrades to major improvements, energy savings add up. Celebrate 25 years with us and see how Focus on Energy has made a difference across Wisconsin.
We have several shows on our podcast, “Watt’s Up, Wisconsin” looking back at 25 years of energy efficiency in Wisconsin. We talk with the people who created these programs that have not only saved energy, and help you save money, but have impacted Wisconsin’s economy. Our special anniversary episodes explore Wisconsin’s work in energy efficiency and renewable energy.
Check out our 25th Anniversary podcast playlist.
Join our newsletter to stay up-to-date.
Looking for something specific?
