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CUB To Give Facts On Slashing Energy Bills, Efficiency Incentives Of Up To $1,500, And Tinley Park's Pioneering 'Smart-grid' Program
CHICAGO, March 31, 2010—As the Citizens Utility Board (CUB) prepares to fight an expected ComEd
CUB’s free “Saving Energy, Saving Money” seminar is:
7 p.m., Wednesday, April 14
Tinley Park Public Library 7851 Timber Drive Tinley Park Note: Space is limited, so please pre-register for this event by calling 708-532-0160. "Consumers may not have a lot of faith in utilities or volatile energy markets to bring their electric and natural gas bills down, but there’s a lot they can do without ever leaving home--and CUB knows the tools to help them do that," CUB Outreach Director Sarah Moskowitz said. "Energy efficiency is a great way to take power over your power bills." Attendees will learn about: *CUB Energy Saver (www.CUBEnergySaver.com), a free online service that can help consumers build a money-saving plan perfect for their homes. So far, it has shown Illinois consumers how to save about $200,000 and cut more than 900 metric tons of carbon-dioxide pollution, the equivalent of about nine train cars full of coal. *Efficiency incentives, such as a tax credit of up to $1,500, how to get paid $25 for having ComEd junk an old refrigerator, and 15 percent discounts for buying a new room air conditioner and other energy-efficient appliances. *The state’s new “on-bill financing” law that will allow consumers to buy money-saving appliances with no upfront cost—and pay for it on their utility bills. *ComEd’s “smart-grid” pilot program and how it will affect Tinley Park consumers. Tinley Park is one of the only communities in the nation where Internet-based upgrades to the electricity system are being tested for their cost-effectiveness and the potential to eliminate waste, prevent costly power outages, and save consumers billions of dollars. Each participant at CUB’s event will receive a free Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) bulb, which can cut electric bills by up to $50 over its lifetime. CUB also will raffle off a “smart” power strip that can cut energy bills by hundreds of dollars a year, and a “Kill-a-Watt,” a helpful device that allows you to measure exactly how much energy an individual appliance uses. The event is part of the money-saving mission for CUB, which is appealing a $273 million ComEd increase as it prepares for another rate-hike request from the company. ComEd has said it expects to make a new push for a rate hike before September. CUB is Illinois’ leading nonprofit utility watchdog organization. Created by the Illinois Legislature, CUB opened its doors in 1984 to represent the interests of residential and small-business utility customers. Since then, CUB has saved consumers more than $10 billion by helping to block rate hikes and secure consumer refunds. For more information, call CUB’s Consumer Hotline, at 1-800-669-5556, or visit CUB’s award-winning website, www.CitizensUtilityBoard.org. |