RUTLAND (AP) - Ten of 69 Vermont businesses that signed up to try to trim their electrical usage by 7.5 percent over two years have met that goal with the program just half over.

That's the word from Gov. Peter Shumlin and officials of Efficiency Vermont, who gathered Monday at the Rutland Regional Medical Center to kick off the final year of the project.

Efficiency Vermont says it targeted Vermont's largest energy users with the program, in hopes of getting the largest reductions in power use it could find.

At the Rutland Hospital, President Thomas Huebner says the hospital is still working on reaching the efficiency goal and is making progress.

He says it's good for the hospital's bottom line and shows its commitment to reducing its environmental impact.

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