By Dave Lucas
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Albany, NY – 130-thousand upstate New Yorkers are getting "home energy reports" from National Grid. The Report helps customers save energy and money by anonymously comparing their energy usage to similar customers. Capital District Bureau Chief Dave Lucas reports.
The Report allows customers to review the past 12 months of their energy usage and compare and contrast their energy consumption and costs with others in the same neighborhood. National Grid spokesman Patrick Stella says reports have been sent to homeowners and apartment dwellers selected by National Grid, and anyone who receives a National Grid bill was a candidate for participation. Stella notes that at this point, the utility is not taking on any additional participants.
The program was successfully launched in other parts of National Grid's service area and is currently being used in approximately 425,000 homes.
Theresa Sullivan, a National Grid customer in Weymouth, Massachusetts, says her initial report was an eye opener.
National Grid expects that a typical upstate New York participant in the Home Energy Reports Program will save about $30 on electricity bills over one year, while a natural gas participant will save $20. That's a potential collective savings of as much as $6.8 million across all 130,000 customers in the upstate New York pilot program.
Home Energy Report participants also can access an online supplement to their report where they can view their energy usage by month, take advantage of rebates and other incentives, get practical recommendations for their household and view the most popular tips visitors have taken advantage of.