By: Barbara Vergetis Lundin |
PECO customers have saved more than $350 million through the company’s energy efficiency programs, products and services, such as PECO Smart Ideas, since the programs launched in 2009 — a combination of over $220 million in energy savings and $130 million in rebates, discounts and incentives.
Customers have saved more than 1.5 million megawatt hours of electricity — enough electricity keep New York City lit for a month. This energy savings also has the same environmental impact as removing about 145,000 cars from roadways or planting more than 1.6 million trees.
More than 500,000 PECO customers have participated in PECO Smart Ideas energy efficiency programs. Collectively, they have purchased more than 9.5 million discounted compact fluorescent (CFL) light bulbs and light emitting diode (LED) bulbs through PECO Smart Home Rebates; recycled 36,985 refrigerators/freezers/AC window units with PECO Smart Appliance Recycling; and completed more than 41,000 free energy-saving PECO Smart e-Audits. PECO also recently increased the rebate amounts available for many electric appliances and HVAC equipment models after approval by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.
PECO Smart Ideas is part of the company’s response to Pennsylvania’s energy efficiency and demand response targets — Act 129 — which required all Pennsylvania electric utilities to develop programs to help customers reduce energy use by 1 percent by May 31, 2011 and 3 percent by May 31, 2013. Act 129 also requires utilities to help customers reduce their energy usage by an additional 2.9 percent by May 31, 2016.
