By Samantha Vercellino Thanksgiving is fast approaching and many Americans are gearing up to cook a traditional holiday feast that will leave family and friends in a food coma. But gathering around the table can be a pricey affair, especially when total U.S. spending on Thanksgiving dinner is $2.4 billion. So, before heading…...
Don’t say the “P” word
by Samantha Vercellino The weather is about to change–and not in a good way. Painful memories of last winter will resurface this week as the Midwest welcomes back the “polar vortex” which was triggered by Super Typhoon Nuri, the National Weather Service says. The Artic outbreak will bring below-average temperatures for…...
Great advice and savings at CAPS Energy Efficiency Event
CUB was honored to be invited to a CAPS (Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy) Energy Efficiency Event at Chicago’s 7th District Police Station Thursday. Several CUB staffers were on hand to help residents uncover savings in their phone, gas, and electric bills. Aimee Gendusa-English, CUB’s community service liaison, had the opportunity to look over the…...
Enrollment for Peak Time Savings is Quick and Easy
CUB Director of Governmental Affairs Bryan McDaniel walked us through how to sign up for Peak Time Savings (PTS). PTS is a free program for ComEd customers with digital smart meters that credits customers for reducing electricity usage on certain high-demand summer days. Enrollment is quick and painless. Take a…...
ComEd Discounts: L-E-Delightful
We don’t want to induce a panic, but we have big news: ComEd is discounting LED light bulbs! Time to run to your nearest hardware store to take advantage of these long-lasting, energy-efficient lighting marvels. ComEd is offering the in-store instant discount as part of its Smart Ideas efficiency program. (The utility is required to offer…...
Nobel Prize winners put LEDs in the spotlight
Three scientists earned this year’s Nobel Prize in Physics for inventing the blue light-emitting diode (LED)–an essential part of creating white light from LED lamps. Red and green LEDs had been around since the 1960s, but blue LEDs had been a challenge for scientists for years. In the 1990s, however, Isamu Akasaki,…...
An expensive court decision for ComEd customers
We told you last week about an Appellate Court decision that could increase future ComEd power prices by 20 percent! It all revolves around energy efficiency programs known as “Demand Response”– aka”negawatts.” That’s when the manager of the power grid, an organization called PJM, pays huge industrial customers to shift…...
