PO Box 646

Exton PA 19341-0646

- What do you keep your heat and/or ac set at?   A typical central air conditioning system can use upwards of 500 kwh a month when it is only on for 3 hours a day. Consider turning your air conditioner to a warmer setting. According to the Environment Protection Agency, you can save up to 7% of your total electric bill by increasing your set-point temperature by 1 degree.

- Do you leave a lot of appliances plugged in when not in use? Even when turned off many appliances can still use power.  Desktop computers, laptops, cell- phone chargers, DVD players, printers, and stereos are the most common appliances left plugged in that can draw a large amount of current.

- Do you wash and/or dry a lot of clothing? A typical washer/dryer can use quite a bit of electricity.  Just using a dryer 3 times a week can use upwards of 72 kwh a month.

- Do you take a lot of long, hot showers/baths? A typical water heater is powered by electricity which can use upwards of 400 kWh / month for a family of 4.

- Consider shutting your computer completely off when you are not using it. Even if you shut your computer off while you sleep for eight hours, you will reduce the energy consumption it uses by 1/3.

- If you have an electric dishwasher consider hand washing some dishes. This will reduce the amount of times you need to use the dishwasher, thus reducing your costs.

- If you have an electric stovetop consider using pots and pans which completely cover the burners. By doing this, you are reducing the excess heat which is given off, making all of the heat go directly to what you are cooking. This will reduce the cooking time and energy consumption of the electric range.

- Consider switching to fluorescent bulbs. Many of the fluorescent bulbs are 60W equivalents which mean they produce the same light as 60W bulb, but they don’t give off the excess heat, meaning they consume less energy. As an example, a regular 60 watt incandescent light bulb only lasts for 1000 hours and uses the full 60 watts. The average 60 watt equivalent fluorescent bulb will last 10,000 hours and only use 15 watts of power to put out the same amount of light as a regular bulb. At an average cost of $0.09 per kWh, the approximate total savings is $42.00 over the lifetime of the bulb. Also consider swapping out your traditional incandescent light bulb with a LED bulb. This will also cut your energy cost significantly and prevent greenhouse gas emissions.

- During cold weather open window shades to let in as much direct sunlight as possible during the day.  This will require less heat to heat your home.  During warm weather leave window shades down during the day to minimize direct sunlight.  This will require less air conditioning to cool your home.

 WATER CONSERVATION

- A running toilet can use up to 900 gallons per day and 28,000 gallons per month.  Always check for a running toilet if you see a steep rise in your water bill. Repair all leaks. A leaky toilet can waste 200 gallons per day. To detect leaks in the toilet, add food coloring to the tank water. If the colored water appears in the bowl after a few minutes, the toilet is leaking.

- A dripping faucet can use up to 20 gallons per day and 600 gallons per month.  Make sure that all faucets are completely turned off, especially when you leave your home or business for several days at a time.

- A pinhole leak in a pipe can use up to 170 gallons per day and 5000 gallons per month.                                                                                                                                      

- When washing dishes by hand, don’t let the water run while rinsing. Fill one sink with wash water and the other with rinse water.          

- Try not to use water to defrost foods.  Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.

- Run your clothes washer and dishwasher only when they are full. You can save up to 1,000 gallons a month.

- Water your lawn and garden in the morning or evening when temperatures are cooler to minimize evaporation.                                                                                                               

- Shorten your shower by a minute or two and you’ll save up to 150 gallons per month.                                                                                                                                                                                         

- Don’t use running water to thaw food. Defrost food in the refrigerator for water efficiency and food safety.                                                                                                

- The average bathroom faucet flows at a rate of two gallons per minute. Turn off the water while brushing your teeth you can save up to 8 gallons of water per day.

- When washing dishes by hand, use the least amount of detergent possible. This minimizes rinse water needed. This can save upwards of 50 to 150 gallons a month.

The Philadelphia-based electric utility is phasing out its discounted RH heating rate. The RH provides a discount of about 45 percent to customers who consume more than 600 kilowatt-hours per month during the winter, which PECO said helps its RH customers lower electric bills by an average of about 5 percent a year.

The discounts on these rates will be cut in half on Jan. 1, 2012 and will be eliminated totally by the end of 2012.

This means that for all usage over 600 kWh the price will go from $0.0548 / kWh to $0.0700 / kWh starting with the January 1, 2012 billing.

PECO said it was ending the discounted rates as required by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC). The discounted rates were put into place decades ago to encourage Pennsylvanians to switch to electric heating. But then electric deregulation allowed competing alternative electric suppliers to enter the market and sell electricity to electric customers in PECO’s service territory.

The good news is that starting January 1st the price for the first 600 kWh has decreased by about 12% from $0.1045 / kWh to $0.0927 / kWh.

This means that any residential customer billed under the PECO RH rates will see a decrease in your electric charges up to 915 kWh. This is considered to be the break-even point where any usage over this number you will see an increase in your charges.

Regarding the decrease coming for PECO Residential Heating, non-heating, and commercial customers PECO issued a press release stating the following:

“Electric commodity costs fluctuate – either increasing or decreasing – based on many factors including wholesale prices when purchases are made, the amount of wholesale electricity purchased, the length of contracts, weather, reconciliation of collections for actual versus forecasted energy use, and other calculations.　 Based on this adjustment, bills for a typical residential customer – not purchasing their electricity from a competitive electric generation supplier – will decrease about 6.6 percent or about $6.10 a month for the first quarter beginning on Jan. 1, 2012.　

Electric commodity costs for business customers also vary based on the total amount of energy they use and their energy usage patterns.　 Beginning Jan. 1, 2012, prices for small business customers not purchasing their electricity from a competitive supplier will decrease about 9 percent and prices for large business customers not purchasing their electricity from a competitive supplier will decrease about 2.9 percent.”

Background Information: As a result of Pennsylvania’s 1997 electric utility restructuring law, PECO no longer produces electricity. Electric power generation is sold in a separate, competitive wholesale market. As part of the restructuring, PECO’s customers have benefited from capped electric generation rates since 1996. Since then, wholesale market power prices have risen, driven by increased fuel costs and global competition. The electric generation rate caps expired for PECO customers on 01/01/2011. With the expiration of the rates cap, PECO began buying power on the wholesale market. On 10/08/08, Governor Rendell and the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed legislation that enhanced Pennsylvania’s energy independence and enabled programs to help consumers manage their energy use. House Bill 2200 addresses the way in which utilities can purchase power, demand-side management and energy efficiency programs – including smart meters.
What Is Deregulation? For the electric industry, deregulation means the generation portion of electricity service is now open to competition. For the last decade electricity prices have been capped (or regulated) in this market. During that time, prices remained set (or regulated), regardless of what prices were doing in the marketplace. Deregulation has transformed PECO from a company that makes electricity and delivers it to its customers, to a company that now purchases electricity and delivers it to their customers. (Source www.pecoanswers.com)
Breaking Down Your Bill: In general, your bill is broken into two main parts: 1) The electricity used by customers, otherwise called the Generation portion. This charge is passed along directly to customers at the price that PECO pays. These prices change regularly, as market prices change. 2) The Delivery charge, made up of the Transmission and Variable Distribution charges, is the portion of the bill that covers PECO’s costs to deliver electricity to you. These charges are set by PECO and approved by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. (Source www.pecoanswers.com) Additional Riders, or charges, such as the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard and the State Tax Adjustment Clause make up a small portion of the overall bill.
Some More Information About Prices and Rates: As of January 1, 2011, the prices PECO and its customers pay for electricity are based on electric market pricing, after having been capped for more than 10 years. At the same time, the costs to operate PECO’s systems have been increasing. Because of these increased costs, in December 2010, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission approved PECO’s first electric delivery rate increase since 1989. (Source www.pecoanswers.com )
To view PECO’s Electric Tariff go to www.PECO.com and search for “Tariff” for their latest update.