The Selma City School Board has been offered the chance to save thousands of dollars.

The Energy Systems Group, an award-winning energy services provider, presented the board with a chance to reduce 25 percent of Selma City School system’s annual utility costs by making infrastructure improvements.

The local school system, which has spent more than $1.1 million on electric and natural gas utility costs within the last year, could potentially save about $250,000 a year, ESG said.

“If you have a school district that has a whole bunch of really old buildings, that means that in those really old buildings you’re going to have really old units,” acting Selma City Schools Superintendent Larry DiChiara said. “There are costs savings when you put upgrades in.”

A representative with ESG contacted DiChiara in June, asking if the group could do an analysis of the city’s schools to discover any potential costs savings.

After a couple of meetings with the group, DiChiara suggested they present the idea at the work session earlier this month. The school board has the authority to accept or deny ESG’s request to contract the project.

Among the many recommendations ESG presented via PowerPoint presentation was to replace heating, ventilation and air conditioning units that are more 15 years old at the School of Discovery, Edgewood Elementary, R.B. Hudson Middle, Payne Elementary, Meadowview Elementary, Knox Elementary, Kingston Elementary and Edgewood Elementary.

“[ESG] will assist in the taking out of a loan to get the finances that will then [fund] those upgrades, and they will oversee the installation of them,” DiChiara said.

If the updated infrastructure does save the school the amount ESG guaranteed, the board can use the money they have accumulated through savings to repay the loan they received for the project.

If the school system doesn’t save as much as the company projected, they will pay the school district the difference.

“No upfront money has to come out of our pocket. We do not pay the company for their service,” DiChiara said. “Basically, they become contractors and any time you’re a contractor and go in and do any kind of construction or maintenance in a building, you get a percentage of the costs to do that upgrade.”

ESG agreed to present a more detailed plan to the board at the next work session, which is scheduled for Jan. 8 at the Selma High Library at 5:30 p.m.