Steve Strasser, Power Efficiency Corp. CEO and Chairman

Tiffany Brown

Steve Strasser, whose company makes energy-saving components for escalators and other items, says his company is at a disadvantage here, but hopes that will change.

By Stephanie Tavares

Thursday, Sept. 3, 2009 | 2 a.m.

Power Efficiency

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Steve Strasser is positioned to be at the center of Nevada’s greener energy future, but he isn’t in the solar or wind power business.

His Power Efficiency Corp. designs and builds electronic sensing equipment that makes motors use electricity more efficiently. His products are doing that in escalators and conveyor belt systems across the country. Strasser and others believe energy-conserving products such as his are the bridge to a cleaner energy future.

When Congresswoman Dina Titus’ staff put together last Thursday’s panel discussion about energy efficiency, Strasser, 61, was one of the first people tapped, and the event was held at one of his Las Vegas offices.

How do your products save energy?

Motors are engineered to support the maximum load, and most of them operate as if they were carrying the maximum load even when they’re empty or only operating at a minimum-load capacity. That’s a huge waste of electricity. We design a system that senses the actual amount of electricity needed and then directs only that amount to the motor.

Is this the low-hanging fruit?

In Las Vegas we have a lot of machines that carry people. We probably have more escalators than any other city. We’ve designed systems to make escalators and elevators more efficient. It can cut electricity use on those machines by 25 percent. Across the state there’s also a lot of applications for industrial machines like rock and ore crushers at the mines and conveyor belts at the factories. We’re working on designing for individual or residential applications. We have a prototype for washing machines. This is the most inexpensive way to improve motor efficiency. It’s a breakthrough.

Why is improving energy efficiency important?

The growth of the energy efficiency potential in this country is the big story. Very few people pay attention to it. We’re addressing a huge need in the world. Efficiency lowers the cost of production and makes businesses more competitive, which saves jobs and supports the economy. And it creates jobs for the people who develop and install the technology. Energy efficiency could put 7 million people across the country back to work. Energy efficiency also lowers the carbon output to help the environment and it buys the utilities some time to bring renewable energy plants online.

Las Vegas is far from a hub for renewable energy or efficiency design and manufacturing, so why did you choose to locate your company here?

We could be anywhere. In fact, we’re at something of a disadvantage here. There are no other companies like us nearby. Everything is in the Silicon Valley or San Diego or near MIT. But I moved here six years ago and I’m committed to Las Vegas. My family is here, I’m involved in the community here. I want to bring businesses here. My goal is to create a lot of jobs here.

How does Las Vegas benefit from technology companies like yours moving to town?

I provide more than 20 very well paid long-term jobs here in Nevada. And the number will only grow as demand grows for the type of product we make. If our government invests in energy efficiency research and development and weatherization that provides long-term jobs, they could start tomorrow.

What keeps other technology companies from moving to Nevada?

As energy efficiency technologies come into demand, this state needs to figure out a way to attract the people who can attract the manufacturing. A big part of that is education. Las Vegas is not a favorable place because there’s not a lot of the type of workers we need to choose from. We have great electricians and great craftsmen here and that is a big advantage, but we don’t have a big pool of that other talent. We can’t keep cutting education. The state can’t move forward with modern industries if businesses can’t find workers with the appropriate skills.