Saving Energy, Money: It's a Community Thing

Considering the Source

"There's really no magic," said James E. Leventry, Manager.

Leventry was speaking of one of the most basic challenges that every family in America faces: how to save money on utility bills.

In 2008, Gov. Ed Rendell signed Pennsylvania Act 129 into law. The act required utilities to develop "cost-effective plans to reduce electricity consumption by 1 percent" by May 31, 2011.

To meet that requirement, Duquesne Light has added a "PA E E Surcharge," known in longer form as an "Energy Efficiency and Conservation and Demand Response Surcharge," to its bills for all customers: industrial, commercial and residential. The idea is that the extra charge, approved by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, provides customers with an added incentive to reduce energy consumption.

Due to this increase in utility costs, Leventry is looking for new options to keep Whitehall's municipal bills under control.

"We used to deal with select energy companies," Leventry said. "Now, we can buy from the lowest bidder."

In order to find that lowest price, Leventry has turned to Energy Savers, Inc., located in Ross Township.

"Energy Savers is a brokerage company that checks pricing periodically for electricity supplies," Leventry said. "Currently, we're looking at TriEagle for purchasing electricity for (the Whitehall Borough) account."

TriEagle Energy, headquartered in Texas, provides electricity for that state as well as Pennsylvania. Using Duquesne Light's poles and wires, TriEagle offers discounts of approximately 15 to 19 percent on electricity for Baldwin-Whitehall customers.

"Buying directly from Duquesne Light is quite expensive," said Natalie M. Abel, vice president of business development at Energy Savers.  "A lot of people don't know that (discounts like this) are available to them. We don't do any advertising, so we're trying to get the word out through the municipalities."

As the daughter of founder James Behr, Abel has seen Energy Savers grow from its start in 1982, working with commercial real-estate owners to reduce energy consumption. After the deregulation of natural gas, followed by electricity, Energy Savers got involved in its current role of providing energy-related consulting. Today, Energy Savers maintains more than 3,500 active contracts.

"Right now, we're looking at this for electricity," Leventry said. "Soon, we'll be able to (do the same) for natural gas, too.

"First, for the municipality – then, residential."

What residents can do right now is take advantage of the same lower electricity rates that TriEagle or its competitors offer. Residents can do so by going to the Energy Savers website's residential page and signing up.

Waste Not, Want Not

While changing providers might be one way to cut utility costs, making improvements to your home or business's energy efficiency is a practice that would definitely pay off.

For example, making small improvements to home energy efficiency can cut energy costs by up to 40 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

One way to find improvements is to have a home energy audit. PA Home Energy offers connection to RESNET- and BPI-certified energy auditors. The auditors provide a detailed report on energy inefficiencies in your home.

In addition to improving gas and electricity efficiency, PA Home Energy also shows that residents might qualify for up to $8,000 in tax rebates.

In the push to meet the fast-approaching deadline imposed by Act 129, Duquesne Light has started its Watt Choices program. The program provides information to both home and business customers on how to conserve energy and save on electricity bills.

Duquesne Light also offers a refrigerator-recycling program. This program offers customers a rebate to help them pay for new, more energy-efficient appliances.

A recycler can simply schedule a time to have his or her old refrigerator or freezer picked up. Duquesne Light will then give that recycler a $35 rebate check.