LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Jan. 20, 2014) – Louisville Gas and Electric Co. (LG&E) and Kentucky Utilities Co. (KU) have filed plans with the Kentucky Public Service Commission to expand several of the utilities’ most popular energy efficiency programs and introduce a new option.
The LG&E and KU energy efficiency portfolio offers programs and financial incentives to help residential and commercial customers better manage their energy usage and to help offset customers’ costs for various energy-efficient products and services.
“By participating in our programs, our customers have been able to achieve a significant energy demand reduction of about 330 megawatts since our portfolio’s inception nearly eight years ago,” said David Huff, director of Customer Energy Efficiency and Smart Grid Strategy for LG&E and KU.
“There are many factors that go into deciding which programs to offer through our energy efficiency portfolio. Most importantly, though, is the feedback we receive from our customers and their adoption rate of our existing programs,” said Huff. “As factors have continued to change — to include our customers’ energy-use habits, industry standards and available technology — we’ve continued to evolve our programs to meet our customers’ needs.”
The energy savings help offset customers’ annual energy growth and manage peak periods when customers’ energy usage is at its highest. For context, one megawatt supplies enough energy to power about 720 typical residential homes.
If approved, the utilities would expand four of the most popular programs among customers, as well as extend existing energy education and public education efforts. In addition, the utilities would introduce a new voluntary advanced meter offering.
Proposed program expansions and enhancements include:
1. Home Energy Rebates — expands funding to increase the number of rebates, ranging from $50 to $300, available each year to residential customers for certain Energy Star-certified appliances, as well as high-efficiency air conditioning systems and window products.
2. Home Energy Analysis — adds incentives ranging from $300 to $1,000 when residential customers install energy efficiency measures after completing an on-site home energy analysis, as well as new offerings and incentives available for multi-family properties.
3. Commercial Energy Analysis and Rebates — adds an online energy audit tool based on the commercial customer’s actual usage; retires the utilities’ former commercial energy analysis program to now offer financial rebates that offset customer costs for third-party on-site energy audits; and offers rebates for new construction.
4. Commercial Demand Conservation — enhances incentives and extends program offerings to commercial customers who sign up to participate in peak demand cycling events, either by installing an energy management system or individual energy demand load-control switches, from June through September.
5. Energy Education and Public Information — extends the existing children’s energy education program available to grades K-8; continues training opportunities for building industry professionals; builds upon existing energy education and public information efforts to encourage customers to reduce their energy usage and participate in available programs.
Proposed new program:
1. Voluntary Advanced Meter Offering — offers up to 5,000 LG&E and 5,000 KU residential customers the installation of an advanced meter and access to an online energy usage portal that provides near real-time energy usage information. Participation in this program will be voluntary on a first-come, first-served basis.
Visit lge-ku.com/savingenergy for a complete list of the utilities’ current energy efficiency programs and services.
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