More than a dozen new incentive programs to roll out in coming months

Customers looking to save energy will soon have more help. PPL Electric Utilities will begin rolling out more than a dozen new energy efficiency programs over the next few months.

The programs, approved Thursday (10/15) by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, will offer something for all customer groups. They are PPL Electric Utilities’ response to Pennsylvania Act 129, which requires utilities to help customers reduce electric use and peak demand.

“Our programs provide great incentives to improve your home or business and save energy,” said David G. DeCampli, president of PPL Electric Utilities. “These programs will reward you if you buy, build, renovate and act with energy efficiency in mind. They can help you save money and protect the environment.”

DeCampli said the company’s options, which will offer everything from rebates on energy-efficient equipment to expanded home weatherization services for eligible customers, encourage broad participation and generally don’t require customers to spend large amounts of money.

“The majority of our programs will result in significant savings and quick payback,” he said.

In addition, he said, the company wants to make participation simple and easy. He said PPL Electric Utilities will hire a number of experienced contractors over the next several months to help carry out the programs. As the new options are introduced, the company will communicate details and information to customers.

Among the new options that will be offered are:

• Rebates to customers who install energy-efficient equipment, including lighting, appliances, and heating and cooling systems.
• Rebates and incentives for customers to get a home energy audit and weatherize their home.
• A compact fluorescent lighting campaign to distribute more than 7 million energy-efficient light bulbs through a combination of giveaways and discount programs in retail stores.
• A program to promote construction of energy-efficient homes, and grants to help offset higher costs of energy efficiency measures.
• Rebates to encourage recycling of older, inefficient refrigerators, freezers and window air conditioners.
• Nearly doubling of the company’s funding of home weatherization and conservation services for low-income customers.
• Rebates for commercial customers who have their heating, ventilating and air-conditioning systems tuned up and improved to increase energy efficiency.
• Financial incentives for customers who reduce electricity use during peak hours or install remote-controlled devices on certain appliances so that the company can scale back electric use when summer demand is highest.
• Financial incentives for customers to install solar energy systems or geothermal heat pumps.

The PUC is also considering PPL Electric Utilities’ request for a time-of-use pricing option that would give residential customers and some businesses the opportunity to save money by shifting their electricity use away from periods when demand is high. A decision on that option is expected in early 2010.

Customers who have made qualifying energy efficiency improvements since July 1, 2009, may be eligible for incentives as well if they have receipts for their purchase of qualifying energy efficiency improvements. When options are announced, customers will be able to take advantage of the associated rebates and incentives.

DeCampli said the company will move to finalize its plans once it sees the PUC’s final order on its energy efficiency and conservation plan. The new energy efficiency options will be available through mid-2013. Customers who are interested are encouraged to enroll early.

Act 129, passed by the Pennsylvania Legislature and signed into law by the governor last fall, requires electric utilities to reduce customers’ annual energy use 1 percent by mid-2011 and 3 percent by mid-2013. It also requires utilities to reduce customers’ peak demand, or peak hourly use, by 4.5 percent by mid-2013.

PPL Electric Utilities’ new options aim to reduce customers’ electric use by more than 1.3 billion kilowatt-hours a year by mid-2013. That’s about equivalent to the power that would be saved if all of the company’s 1.2 million residential customers shut off power for a month.

The options are funded through customer rates, as stipulated by Act 129, and will add about $2 a month to the average residential customer’s electric bill. Customers who take advantage of one or more of the new options have the opportunity to offset that amount and save much more.

“When customers save, it helps control the cost of electricity for everyone,” DeCampli said. “And it conserves our nation’s natural resources and helps to protect the environment for generations to come.”

PPL Electric Utilities, a subsidiary of PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL), provides electric delivery service to 1.4 million customers in 29 counties of eastern and central Pennsylvania and has consistently ranked among the best companies for customer service in the United States. More information is available at www.pplelectric.com.