Cool Idea: $30-Million Prize for Efficient Fridge : Energy: Utility companies are offering manufacturers the reward for a ‘nontoxic’ appliance.

A group of electric utility companies from California to the East Coast are offering a cool $30-million reward for a manufacturer that can develop a vastly improved refrigerator.

The use of such a prize is a novel approach for utilities, in that it is rewarding manufacturers to develop a new product rather than rewarding consumers to engage in energy conservation.

The prize--announced Tuesday by a group of about 20 utilities known as the Super Efficient Refrigerator Program--will go to the company that builds what the consortium calls a “super-efficient, nontoxic refrigerator.”

Specifically, the group is looking for a refrigerator that uses no chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, and that is 25% to 50% more energy efficient than called for under 1993 federal standards. CFCs, which contaminate the atmosphere, are used in refrigerators both as a coolant and as insulation.

In a news release, Gary Fernstrom, chief financial officer of SERP and also an energy efficiency supervisor at Pacific Gas & Electric in San Francisco, said: “Such a refrigerator would not be available for many years if the participating utilities had not come together to provide a financial incentive for manufacturers to develop the product.

“Current refrigerators use 50% less electricity than those made 20 years ago, but even the most energy-efficient units still waste significant amounts of power. The new product is expected to increase in efficiency another 25% to 50% more over the current standards.”

Included in the consortium are all four of California’s major electric utilities: PG&E;, Southern California Edison, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and the Sacramento Municipal Utility District. More than a dozen other public and private utilities also are involved.

To raise the $30-million prize, each of the utilities is contributing from $150,000 to $7 million each, depending on the number of customers they serve. The prize will be awarded when the new refrigerators are delivered to the participating utilities’ service areas.

In the past, utilities have rewarded consumers for reduced energy usage.

The prize represents a new strategy, offering what the consortium calls a “golden carrot” to improve efficiency.

Fernstrom said he believes that such a “golden carrot” approach will be more effective than new regulations to boost efficiency standards.

More utilities are expected to join the group later on, increasing the reward to perhaps $40 million. A spokeswoman for the consortium said it would be a “winner-take-all” prize.

The new refrigerator is expected to be available by 1994.