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Central Hudson Proposes Customer Energy Efficiency Plan
Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corporation filed a request with the New York State Public Service Commission today to launch a broad initiative designed to help its customers use energy more efficiently. The filing seeks immediate approval of educational, appliance rebate, technology assistance and low income-customer financialaid programs. If fully subscribed, the programs could save a projected 1.1 million megawatt hours of electricity and 21.5 million therms of natural gas cumulatively over the lifecycle of the installed efficiency measures - saving enough electricity to power approximately 128,000 homes and heat about 23,000 natural gas homes for one full year.
"The time has come for Central Hudson to use its energy expertise to not just deliver energy, but to help our customers use it more wisely," said Steven V. Lant, Chairman, President and CEO of CH Energy Group, Inc. "This program will enable customers to use less energy to accomplish the beneficial tasks that energy provides - comfort, lighting, entertainment and powering the technologies that improve our productivity and quality of life."
"We surveyed our customers to identify the most compelling ways that we can assist them in saving energy and then used that information to design programs modeled on the most effective energy efficiency offerings in the nation - with an overarching goal to help Central Hudson customers not only lower their electric and natural gas bills but also lessen their impact on our natural environment," said Denise Doring VanBuren, who has been appointed Vice President of Public Affairs and Energy Efficiency and who will lead the "SavingsCentral" effort.
"Through both focus groups and telephone surveys, we heard resoundingly from customers that they want to save energy and that Central Hudson is their preferred partner in doing so," said VanBuren. "During the energy crisis of the 70s and 80s, Central Hudson successfully helped customers realize meaningful energy savings; we look forward to using our expertise to fulfill that role again, particularly given Governor Spitzer's call to reduce energy consumption dramatically across the state by 2015."
In addition to requesting the ability to recover costs associated with the program, the filing includes a revenue decoupling mechanism (RDM), that the Public Service Commission earlier this year asked utilities to file and which will break the link between sales and revenues. It also seeks an opportunity for the utility to earn a modest incentive for producing net benefits for its customers.
VanBuren said that once approved by the Commission, the new SavingsCentral energy efficiency program will be operational within approximately three months and will include offerings such as rebates for upgrades to high-efficiency appliances, assistance to low-income customers and expert advice for small commercial customers in accessing programs available through the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, NYSERDA.
Central Hudson is a regional utility delivering energy to approximately 296,000 electric and about 72,000 natural gas customers throughout portions of eight counties within New York's Mid-Hudson Valley.
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