Susan Scheetz’s love for the outdoors gives her motivation to maintain an earth-friendly lifestyle. Scheetz, a resident of Helotes, does what she can to recycle, save water and conserve energy around her home.

To conserve energy, she’s made a habit of turning off the lights when they’re not being used. She also keeps her thermostat at energy-saving temperatures.

Her dogs, Zoey and Maggie, don’t seem to mind, she said. 

“They are accustomed to the house thermostat being set at 78 degrees in the summer,” Scheetz said. “They get a little shorter haircut and lay under the ceiling fans.” In the winter, Zoey and Maggie have their own sweaters to keep them warm while the thermostat is set at 62 degrees, she added.

Scheetz said another important way she cares for the environment is by taking part in the Windtricity® program with CPS Energy. As a Windtricity partner, she offsets 25 percent of her home’s energy use with clean, renewable wind power. Scheetz said she signed up after reading a Helotes newsletter article about residents who had joined the program.

“(Afterward,) I logged onto (cpsenergy.com) and filled out a form – easy,” she said. “And now, I feel like I am contributing to the environment even more by getting a portion of my electricity from the wind.”

Scheetz is not the only one in Helotes to join the program. Months after Scheetz signed up, the City of Helotes joined the Windtricity program in a big way.

Helotes Joins Windtricity

Helotes Mayor Tom Schoolcraft announced on May 12 that the city made a commitment to offset 100 percent of its energy use in city buildings with wind-generated energy. By doing so, the City of Helotes became the first municipality in Bexar County to sign up for the program and achieve U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Green Power Partner status.

As one of CPS Energy’s newest Windtricity partners, the City of Helotes is challenging its residents and business community to sign up for Windtricity also in an effort to become an EPA Green Power Community, a higher level of commitment than Green Power Partner.

"To reach that goal, about 1,400 Helotes residents would need to sign up for our Windtricity program," explained John Saenz, CPS Energy vice president of retail energy. “It costs a little bit more, but it helps us invest in more renewable energy, and that's the key, all of us working together to make a difference for the good of the environment."

Scheetz, who was present for the event outside Helotes city hall, said she will be rooting for her city to reach its goal and hopes that other communities will get the message.

“When Helotes reaches that goal, hopefully it will send a challenge to other communities to match or have greater participation,” she said.

Scheetz envisions other communities in Greater San Antonio competing every year to see who can be the greenest community. She suggested that the winning city be awarded a trophy or receive some type of acknowledgement.

In the meantime, Scheetz has her own competition to keep her busy.

“My boyfriend and I have contests to see whose household can have the lowest utility bills,” she said.