by Rebecca Walker — October 27, 2008—Puget Sound Energys residential and business customers can now take advantage of more than 80 money-saving energy-efficiency rebate and grant programs. For homeowners, up to $2,200 in PSE support is available for energy-efficient upgrades to their residences. For businesses, PSE support can amount to as much as 70 percent of the cost of installing energy-efficient lighting, heating and other improvements, says the utility.
During the past five years, PSE customers have increased their electricity savings by 47 percent and their natural gas savings by 23 percent, as measured by the first-year savings from new energy-efficiency steps. For example, in 2003 PSE-supported energy-efficiency measures helped customers save 17.3 average megawatts (aMW) of electricity and 2.2 million therms of natural gas in the first year those measures (such as improved lighting, heating and air-conditioning) were installed, with on-going energy savings continuing throughout the service life of the improvements. By 2007, the first-year savings for PSE-supported energy-efficiency measures had risen to more than 25 aMW of electricity and to 2.7 million therms of natural gas, with further savings over time.
PSE predicts that its residential and business energy efficiency programs will save enough energy over the next 20 years to supply electricity to all the residences in Seattle, Bellevue, Bellingham, and Olympia combined and will negate the need for building two additional mid-sized, 250-megawatt power plants.
A significant part of the energy savings achieved by PSE customers is due to the more than 8 million compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs distributed by the utility since 2002. By early 2009, PSE expects to have distributed nearly 10 million CFLs.
For more information, see the Web site.
