House Republican Press Release

 

 

 

July 11, 2007

Press Office: 860-240-8700

 

GREENWICH DELEGATION: SUMMER SAVER REWARDS PROGRAM KICKOFF

 

HARTFORD – HARTFORD – State Representatives Livvy R. Floren, R-149th District, Lile R. Gibbons, R-150th District and Claudia “Dolly” Powers, R- 151st District announced the Department of Public Utility Control is kicking off a “2007 Summer Saver Rewards Program”, implementing legislation passed this session.

 

Under the “Summer Saver Rewards Program”, electric utility customers whose electric energy consumption between July 1 and September 30, 2007 is at least 10% less than what the same customer used during that period in 2006, will receive a 10% credit for the generation portion of their bills.  Customer may also be able to earn credits of 15% or 20%.  The generation line item represents more than two-thirds of a typical customer’s bill. 

 

Rep. Powers said, “Residents who cut energy use by 10 percent will receive a 10 percent credit for the generation portion of their bills receiving direct benefit from their conservation efforts.”

 

“It is a win-win situation for electric consumers. They can only save money and will not be penalized it they use more power than they did last year,” said Rep. Gibbons.

 

The purpose of the legislation incentive plan is to make it attractive for consumers to reduce the amount of electricity during the peak summer months.  By reducing electric consumption, not only do the consumers save money on their individual electric bills, but they reduce the load the state puts on the electric grid.  This, in turn, further reduces bills by reducing the amount of “Congestion Costs” that appear as a line item on customers’ bills.  These additional charges are federally mandated because Connecticut’s system is so congested.

 

Rep. Floren said, “Consumer-directed consumption is the wave of the future.  Coupled with smart meters, consumers should be able to control when and how and at what cost they use energy."

 

 

 

All customers are eligible to receive the credits. However it requires customers of both UI and CL&P should call 1- 877- WISE USE [1-877-947-3873] to enroll or receive information about the program. 

 

Among the things that consumers can do to reduce their electric consumption is to close blinds/curtains on the south-facing side of the house during the day, turn air conditioning temperatures up by two (2) degrees, not run air conditioning units when no one is home, turn off unused appliances and lighting, switch to energy-saving light bulbs and unplug unused electronic equipment (such as cell phone chargers) when not in use.  Business customers can turn off any unused equipment and also raise the temperature on air conditioning, as well as switch to energy efficient lighting.  Anyone thinking of purchasing an appliance for home or business should research replacing older appliances with energy-efficient models.  More information on all these ideas can be found at ctenergyinfo.com.