By Scott Mobley
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Photo by Jakob Schiller / Record Searchlight
David Jackson, left, and Matt Madison, both with Redding Electric Utility, hand out compact fluorescent light bulbs Thursday to Walter Wentz who lives on Jamieson Court near the Mt. Shasta mall. Jackson and Madison along with other REU employees were handing out the bulbs and other energy saving devices for free as part of a program to help Redding residents reduce their energy usage.
Redding resident Al Gomez likes to leave his computer running around the clock.
On Thursday, Gomez learned he pays 72 cents a day for that convenience. That adds up to $21.60 a month or $259.20 a year at current Redding Electric Utility rates. "This is very useful information," said Gomez, who had been handed a chart listing the energy consumption of a host of household appliances along with a bunch of energy-saving tips. A couple of red-shirted REU workers also gave Gomez a reel of weather stripping, several compact fluorescent light bulbs and a few foam insulators for electrical outlets and light switch plates for exterior-facing walls.
About a dozen REU workers are going door-to-door this week and next to share conservation tips with customers and hand out the bags of energy-saving goodies. They plan to visit 2,000 households in six days, said Pat Keener, energy services manager.
The utility has earmarked up to $7,500 for the energy-saving devices, Keener said. That money comes from REU's public benefits program - the 3 percent of ratepayer revenue the utility sets aside for programs encouraging conservation, as required under the California's 1996 market restructuring legislation.
REU workers Thursday morning focused on older apartment complexes relying exclusively on electricity for heating and cooling. Many residents in these apartments are lower-income customers who get REU's "lifeline" rate discounts, said Dave Jackson, energy services account manager.
Most of the apartments REU visited Thursday use heat pumps that rely on auxilary power strips that kick in whenever the thermostat is bumped up more than two degrees at a time. These heat strips create power consumption spikes as high as 20 kilowatts - a two-dollar expense-per hour at current rates.
So Jackson cautioned every resident he met Thursday against cranking the thermostat to quickly heat up a room.
Bettie Sheridan, who lives on Jamieson Court, said her apartment is small and she doesn't run her heater unless she absolutely must. But she appreciated the tips and the free energy-saving devices."This is great," Sheridan said. "Some of this stuff I didn't know." Amber Chesbro, who lives a few doors down from Sheridan, also appreciated the REU visit. "With the economy the way it is now we have to find ways of short-cutting on expenses," Chesbro said.
REU plans to visit the Alta Mesa area today, said Keener. Utility workers will go door-to-door next week in the Garden Tract, Parkview and Martin Luther King, Jr. neighborhoods.
Reporter Scott Mobley, Record Searchlight.