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ComEd Business Customers Save Green By Going Green With New Energy Efficiency Programs

Posted on: Wednesday, 30 July 2008, 12:01 CDT

CHICAGO, July 30 /PRNewswire/ -- ComEd commercial and industrial customers now can take advantage of a number of new and enhanced energy efficiency programs that are expected to yield more than $155 million in savings during the programs' lifetime. Launched in June as "Smart Ideas," the new portfolio of energy efficiency measures includes incentives for equipment, upgrades, improvements and more. The portfolio will place ComEd among the top tier of utilities in the nation within a few years, in terms of annual electricity savings achieved through energy efficiency.

Smart Ideas for Your Business provides both prescriptive and custom incentives to commercial and industrial customers for implementation of a variety of energy efficiency measures, including environmentally friendly lighting, motors, HVAC equipment and chillers.

Prescriptive incentives are available for commonly installed energy efficiency equipment for retrofits, upgrades and improvements. The list of incentives includes:

-- Lighting: Up to $100 per fixture -- Cooling: $15-$50 per ton -- Variable Speed Drives: $50 per horsepower -- Motors: $7 to $450 per motor -- Refrigeration: $30 to $400 per unit

Custom incentives are available to customers for retrofit or major energy- saving measures not included in the list of qualified prescriptive incentives. Custom incentives are 3-7 cents per annual kWh saved based on the project life, and pre-approval is required.

"ComEd's business customers face a challenging business environment. Making energy efficiency upgrades can create significant savings that will pay for themselves on future electricity bills," said Anne Pramaggiore, executive vice president, Customer Operations, Regulatory and External Affairs, ComEd. "Through Smart Ideas, we're helping our business customers invest in energy- efficient equipment and systems. Not only will these improvements benefit their bottom line, it also will help the environment."

For example, by upgrading 40 exit signs with energy efficient lighting, a facility could save close to $100 per month in electricity costs. The cost to implement this upgrade is estimated at $3,300, but it would cost about $900 less with the Smart Ideas incentive and it would be paid back in about two years.

Similarly, by modifying two beverage vending machines with ENERGY STAR(R) controls, a facility could save more than $30 per month on their electricity bills. The cost to implement this upgrade is about $430, but it would cost $200 less with the Smart Ideas incentive and it would be paid back in about six months.

ComEd established valuable partnerships with numerous key stakeholders and performed a national review of energy efficiency best practices to develop Smart Ideas. This three-year portfolio of programs will empower both business and residential customers to manage their energy bills in the future and:

-- Reduce energy consumption by 1.2 million megawatt-hours, which is the energy needed to power 140,000 homes for one year, -- Reduce peak load by 330 megawatts, which eliminates the need for a large peaker or single unit coal plant, and -- Reduce carbon by the equivalent of removing 100,000 cars from the road.

As part of the Smart Ideas for Your Business launch, ComEd hosted several Green Ribbon Workshops around its service territory in June reaching 1,400 business customers with an overview of the program incentives and tools. Additionally, ComEd presented a similar program overview to more than 400 attendees providing energy efficiency services to commercial and industrial facilities.

ComEd business customers, including commercial and industrial facilities, private schools, small businesses and not-for-profit organizations are eligible to apply. Municipalities, public schools and public agencies should apply for their incentives through the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity at http://www.ileeps.org/. Customers can receive up to $100,000 in incentives per facility through May 31, 2009. Incentives are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Projects must yield an overall improvement in energy efficiency and may be subject to incentive caps, depending on project characteristics.

Enrolling in one of ComEd's new Smart Ideas energy efficiency programs is part of ComEd's 12 Ways to Green campaign, launched earlier this year to raise customer awareness about energy efficiency and other environmental initiatives. The Smart Ideas programs were developed by ComEd following last year's legislative efforts and were approved by the Illinois Commerce Commission earlier this year. ComEd's energy efficiency programs align with Exelon's plan to reduce, offset or displace more than 15 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year by 2020. This is more than the Exelon family of companies' total current carbon footprint and is equivalent to taking nearly 3 million cars off roads and highways.

More information on Smart Ideas is available by visiting http://www.comed.com/, calling 888-806-2273, or emailing ComEdSmartIdeas@KEMA.com.

Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd) is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation , one of the nation's largest electric utilities with approximately 5.4 million customers. ComEd provides service to approximately 3.8 million customers across Northern Illinois, or 70 percent of the state's population.

Commonwealth Edison Company

CONTACT: ComEd Media Relations, +1-312-394-3500

Web site: http://www.comed.com/

Source: PRNewswire

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