Dive Brief:
- A suite of energy savings programs offered by Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. (BGE) will help customers achieve $2 billion in savings over the expected lifespan of installed technology, according to the utility.
- The BGE Smart Energy Savers Program, which includes the smart meter-enabled BGE Smart Energy Rewards and Smart Energy Manager programs and is aimed at helping meet Maryland's goal of a 15% per capita reduction in energy consumption by 2015, has saved nearly 1.8 billion kWh a year — enough energy to power 165,000 homes per year.
- As savings have increased, so have customer enrollment figures. BGE's Smart Energy Rewards program has grown from 315,000 customers last year to over 800,000 customer this year.
Dive Insight:
Participants in BGE's energy savings programs have received more than $380 million in incentives for helping create more energy efficient homes and businesses, the utility said. So far, more than 18 million energy efficient lighting measures discounted under the BGE Smart Energy Savers Program have been purchased by customers throughout central Maryland.
“Working together with BGE, our customers have achieved this tremendous milestone by strongly supporting the BGE Smart Energy Savers Program, which is intended to help customers manage and decrease energy use, which may ultimately help reduce their energy bills and impact on the environment,” said BGE CEO Calvin G. Butler Jr.
Snce the program began, more than 660,000 customers have earned credits by participating in Energy Savings Days, the utility said. In addition to these residential programs, BGE said it has installed 1.5 million energy efficient measures to more than 17,000 business participants, over half of which are small businesses.
"BGE aims to empower our customers to be smart energy managers by providing important information and innovative programs and tools to help them make smart decisions about their energy consumption in their homes and businesses," Butler said. "The success of these programs is dependent upon increasing customer participation.”