Connecticut Light & Power (CL&P) has announced the start of the second year of the successful Home Energy Reports pilot program, an Energize Connecticut initiative.
Last year, 24,000 randomly selected CL&P customers received a customized report that detailed their home’s energy usage. The report was designed to help customers assess and track their level of energy consumption, and included tips for no-cost, low-cost, and long-term investment options, customized for their home, to reduce energy use. Reports focus on an anonymous energy usage comparison to 100 similarly-sized and equipped homes in the customer’s area—essentially comparing your energy consumption to your neighbor’s.
“A primary objective of Energize Connecticut is to empower Connecticut’s residents, businesses and municipalities to make smart energy choices,” notes Jamie Howland, First Vice-Chairman of the Energy Efficiency Board. “The neighbor comparison and helpful tips energize customers to make a change in the way they use energy, from simply turning off lights when leaving a room to installing high-efficiency appliances and heating/cooling systems.”
Beginning the week of August 6, seven thousand of the original 24,000 customers will be selected to participate in the pilot program again. Ten thousand new customers have also been asked to participate. The enlistment of repeat customers will provide Home Energy Reports administrators with valuable information to compare customer participation levels and persistence of energy-saving results from the first year to the second year of the pilot.
All participants will receive their personalized energy use reports monthly and will have the option to access additional and interactive energy information through a user-friendly online portal.
“We received overwhelmingly positive feedback from customers who were selected to participate in the program’s launch year,” said Penni Conner, Chief Customer Officer at Northeast Utilities, parent company of CL&P. “Home Energy Reports makes it easy for our customers to track their energy use and make decisions to cut back on their consumption, while saving money and also helping the environment.”
The first year of the program delivered an average of 1.7 percent in energy savings across all participating customers, saving those customers in total more than $900,000 on their electric bills. Overall, the 6,000 megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity saved from the first year of the pilot is the equivalent of taking 525 cars taken off the road for one year, providing 714 homes with electricity for one year, and avoiding the emissions of 3,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2).
CL&P was the first utility in Connecticut to offer this program to its customers and one of 75 utilities across the country, Canada, and United Kingdom implementing the program. Home Energy Reports is developed by OPOWER, an energy efficiency and Smart Grid software provider based in Arlington, Virginia. According to OPOWER, the program has consistently delivered between 1.5 and 3.5 percent in average energy savings to participating utility customers across the country.
More information, including a sample Home Energy Report, is available at www.cl-p.com.
About Connecticut Light & Power
The Connecticut Light and Power Company (CL&P) has been part of everyday life in Connecticut for more than 100 years, providing safe and reliable electric service to homes, neighborhoods and businesses. With 1.2 million customers in 149 cities and towns, CL&P is improving the environments you live in, by offering programs in energy conservation, economic development and environmental stewardship. CL&P is a Northeast Utilities company (NYSE: NU). For more information, please visit www.cl-p.com, like us on Facebook at facebook.com/CTLightandPower and follow us on Twitter @CTLightandPower.
About Energize Connecticut
Energize Connecticut is a partnership between the state of Connecticut and its electric and gas utilities to provide cleaner, more affordable and more reliable energy for this generation and the next. Energy efficiency and renewable energy programs and services are funded by a charge on customers’ utility bills. Energy efficiency programs are administered by the state’s electric and gas utilities including Connecticut Light and Power, United Illuminating, Yankee Gas, Connecticut Natural Gas, and Southern Connecticut Gas with oversight by the Energy Efficiency Board. Renewable energy programs are administered by the Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority (CEFIA). Additional information on energy efficiency programs can be found at www.ctenergyinfo.com or by calling 1.877.WISE.USE. Renewable energy information can be found at www.ctcleanergy.com or by calling (860) 563-0015.
About OPOWER
Opower is the leader in energy information software, providing the utility industry’s only cross-channel platform proven to drive energy efficiency gains on a large scale. Using cutting-edge behavioral science and patent-pending analytics, the Opower platform enables utilities to provide targeted energy data and advice to each customer. Over 75 utilities—including 8 of the 10 largest in the U.S. — partner with Opower to improve the effectiveness of their energy-efficiency portfolios and motivate their customers to become more energy efficient, while dramatically increasing the level of customer engagement and overall customer satisfaction. Founded in 2007 and privately held, Opower is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, with additional offices in San Francisco and London. For more information, please visit www.opower.com and follow us on Twitter at @Opower.
