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How to Keep Your Energy Bill Low When It’s Time to Turn up the Heat

Electric meters for apartment building

Turning up the heat can lead to higher energy bills, but there are ways to save energy and money when temperatures drop.

Kevin Doyle, the of the Consumer Energy Alliance, was on WECT’s First at Four to discuss tips for keeping your bills low.

One of Doyle’s recommendations is to turn the thermostat down 10-15 degrees when you’re sleeping at night or when you’re not in your home.

 

He also said that opening the blinds or drapes on windows that face South can allow a residence to get free heat from the sun, and making sure ceiling fans are rotating in the right direction — clockwise during the fall and winter — will push down warm air while pulling cold air up to the ceiling.

Read more – Telemundo Amarillo

Michigan Senate OKs Bill to Enable Great Lakes Pipeline Deal

Family Walking in the Winter Snow

This week, the Michigan Senate took action to ensure the continued protection of the Great Lakes by modernizing critical pipeline infrastructure that supplies the energy needs of Michiganders daily.

Republican Sen. Wayne Schmidt of Traverse City, whose district includes the pipeline, said the goal is to protect the Straits while making sure “energy is affordable, reliable and accessible. … By doing a utility corridor, that is the absolutely safest way to do that.” Sen. Adam Hollier of Detroit, the lone Democrat to support the legislation , said it would ensure “people are taken care of in the winter” and also provide work for laborers who build the tunnel.

Read more – Lancaster Online

Thanks for Economic Growth

Charleston West Virginia Energy Rally

CEA’s Midwest Executive Director, Chris Ventura, looks back at the year West Virginia saw some of the fastest economic growth in the country – thanks in part to increased energy production.

As we reflect on our recent Thanksgiving holiday, there’s a lot to be thankful for this year — like West Virginia’s booming economy, gross domestic product growth, declines in unemployment, the revitalization of several communities and increases in personal income — all byproducts of the state’s continued leadership in energy production and infrastructure.

Case in point: Thanks to increased production and safer, state-of-the-art technologies, West Virginians saved more than $4 billion in natural gas costs between 2006 and 2016, with family households savings nearly $1.6 billion.

Read more – Charleston Gazette-Mail

We Need Pipelines

Charlotte North Carolina

CEA’s Tim Page examines how pipelines in North Carolina help attract new employers, bring in new jobs, and help fund critical public services.

What’s more, local development would reduce operating costs for manufacturers, small businesses and farmers who use large amounts of energy to power tractors, combines and other equipment needed for seeding, harvesting and irrigation. Tax revenue from energy would also boost funding for schools, public safety and roads, plus aid development efforts and beautification enhancements.

$500 Million Project to Expand Natural Gas Pipeline Proposed

Household Furnace Repair

As more homes and businesses are utilizing natural gas, additional infrastructure is necessary to ensure the affordable and reliable deliver of the energy we need everyday.

A major operator of energy infrastructure in Pennsylvania is planning a $500 million project to increase the amount of Marcellus Shale natural gas that can be transported from wells in the northern and western parts of the state.

The increased capacity will supply enough natural gas to meet the daily needs of approximately 2.5 million homes.

Read more – Penn Live

The Atlantic Coast Pipeline Is a Vote for the Future

Stack of pipelines

Construction of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline will not just bring more clean natural gas to support manufacturers and help reduce energy costs for homeowners, but it will also lead to the creation of more than 17,000 construction jobs.

The proposed 600-mile natural gas pipeline that will run from West Virginia, though Virginia, to its destination in North Carolina, is now the most-reviewed energy project in Virginia history, but it’s making steady progress. In September, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission re-issued authorization for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) in response to a court challenge, and in October the ACP received authorization from the Commonwealth of Virginia to begin construction.

Read more – The Hill

Top 5 Energy News Stories This Week

Energy News and Stories This Week: Nov. 26th – Dec. 2nd

Energy is the bedrock of modern existence. It influences world economies and family budgets alike. Given its societal significance, we publish a weekly compendium of energy news and stories that are shaping global markets and affecting daily life.

College students working

5Mississippi State Installing Trigeneration Microgrid

Mississippi State University is adding on to its new College View student residential-retail building to build a trigeneration microgrid – meaning a combined cooling, heating and power. The microgrid will combine natural-gas fired combine heat and power (CHP) system with a centralized chilling and heating system – this is a switch from more decentralized hot water heating and cooling systems helping reduce operating costs. The overall electrical power generation capacity is proposed at 285 kW. This is not the only transformation the university has made, a lighting retrofit project for example is also saving the school an average of $1 million a year in energy maintenance costs – overall the university has saved $55 million thanks to energy-efficiency and sustainability efforts.

Processing plant

4The U.S. Natural Gas Coalition Reports Above-Target Methane Reductions

A recent report shows that natural gas exploration companies and pipeline operators have already reached their 2025 goal to reduce gas emissions – surpassing the 1% methane intensity number. As the natural gas industry continues to grow and help meet the growing energy needs of the United States, the reductions stand as a major win for the coalition looking to prove they can do so in an environmentally sustainable way. Many companies have been able to meet emission goals thanks to cutting-edge technology and upgrading and replacing necessary pipeline infrastructure.

Using a Smartphone

3New App Hopes to Cut U.S. Carbon Footprint

A new app, “Cowlines”, offers users across 62 cities in the United States and Canada the opportunity to choose the fastest, cheapest and greenest routes to their destinations. Among the city-centers are Los Angeles, Portland, New York City, Toronto, and Seattle. This free app combines public transit, ride-share, bike-share, car-share and taxis into one customized route – alleviating congestion in urban centers. In addition to personalized routes, Cowlines also notes the total cost of the trip, how long it takes to get there and calculate their carbon footprint calculating the greenhouse gas emissions based on the route.

Kennedy Space Center

2The Kennedy Space Center Introduces Solar Energy to Visitor Complex

Solar trees are headed to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in partnership with Florida Power and Light’s SolarNow program. A solar tree looks a lot like one may think – a tree – offering visitors the opportunity to come in direct contact with solar energy and educate guests on the technology. The five solar trees at the visitor complex will have a total of 60 solar panels, which will help power community parks, zoos and museums.

Tiny house

1Tiny Homes in Silicon Valley’s Backyard

Tiny homes have been a popular alternative to traditional houses as well as a potential solution to house the homeless – now, it seems tiny homes may be an option for Silicon Valley in California, with many needing a more affordable and efficient housing solution. The first models are an average of 625 square feet costing almost $300,000 – almost $30,000 more than the average American home sale price based on census data. Yet, in an area where apartments can run families $4,000 a month. Designer Béhar hopes to build another model using robotic manufacturing that could retail for less than $100,000. Buyers are able to tailor their homes as they please both interior and exterior including options for solar panels, insulation, wood paneling and more.

Offshore Drilling Would Benefit Georgia

Young apprentice using pillar drill in steel fabrication factory

CEA’s Kevin Doyle looks at how Georgia could see up to $200 million in new tax revenues as a result of offshore energy access.

But platforms or wind towers, if constructed, would be dozens of miles offshore, far out of sight, and revenue from offshore energy development would be used for much-needed economic development efforts and beautification enhancements along Georgia’s coastline.

Read more – Savannah Morning News

When It Comes to Homes, Bigger Isn’t Always Better

Tiny house

Some people say that bigger is better when it comes to homes, but not always. Sometimes, bigger just means bigger, more expensive, and oftentimes it leads to rising costs of buying and maintaining a home. When you consider it that way – bigger can mean serious challenges. The more you buy, the more you maintain – and pay for. The rise of the tiny and small house movement has come as a direct response to these problems and the stark realities that come from a society fixated on consumerism, overspending, and debt, along with a slight haunting of the housing crisis at the beginning of the decade. For others, it’s a way to cut back and clear clutter and to stop paying for unused and unwanted space.

It’s like the old metaphor of trying to cook a frog in a pot. If you raise the temperature too quickly, the frog will jump out of the pot. However, if you raise the temperature slowly, they will boil themselves to death. Often times, this is how change happens in society, slowly. The change in American housing that led to this movement happened in just such a way.

In 1950, TreeHugger magazine reports the average house size was 983 square feet. Today, that average house size being built according to the U.S. Census Bureau is 2,422 square feet. All of that space not only has to be furnished, cleaned, and maintained, but it also has to be heated, cooled, and electrified. For newer homes, this may not be expensive, but for older homes – this is a lot of inefficiencies that could be costing the homeowner extra cash out of their budget.

Sarah Susanka is said to have inspired the small/tiny house movement in her book, The Not So Big House, in 1997, writing what many who live in bigger houses already know, “..some of the rooms are only ever visited by the cleaner.” This is especially true for mid-life couples, where children have moved off to college or have their own homes and families. Sometimes rooms sit as monuments to the history of by-gone days, and other times they are converted to sitting rooms, libraries and even storage. Those rooms need to be heated and cooled with the rest of the house, causing higher utility bills for unused space.

With real estate prices in some parts of the country rising and utility bills for middle- and lower-class communities can be a sticking point – forcing people to make hard decisions about their bills and families – it’s no wonder why people would want to scale back. Carmela Ferraro suggests in Financial Times that smaller houses can be a solution for that real-life, worldwide problem. “With world economies faltering and real estate prices still relatively high, especially in more sought-after city centers, they can provide the budget conscious with an affordable entry point into the real estate market.”

Indeed, this is true with regards to purchasing and maintaining a home, but it is also true with regards to repairing it too. The whole process of owning a house can get quite expensive. Depending on how old the house is, dealing with wear and tear can be a financial stress. Walls will have to be painted. The roof will have to be shingled. Plumbing will have to be fixed. The bigger the house means the bigger the direct impact on the size of all of those bills. So, bigger can often equate to bigger cots, but that is an area where tiny homes can really shine. Tiny and modular homes also use less electricity to heat and cool, fewer resources to make, and a smaller environmental footprint.

With these realities in mind, and as we consider emissions reductions, real estate professionals should consider the small/tiny market for their own financial success, as well. For example, if you want to sell houses that people have the money to buy, what better market is there than a market that fits the decreasing size of American families as well as the changing mentality of new generations on the importance of space – or rather – lack thereof.

Locations that were once sparsely populated are now finding themselves in the middle of busy roads and growing communities that have slowly started to develop around their once-quiet neighborhoods. For those that are ready to step away from the growing excitement of these cities or to downsize from a larger house in an urban environment can now find solace in a new way. Not only are these homes a fraction of the cost, but some are also as big as sizable apartments which often times can be mobile or easily transported while still providing the benefits of homeownership.

While the average home size hasn’t decreased much over the past few years, family sizes have and many people have expressed wanting to limit their carbon footprint and this is a great way to meet the needs of both. Tiny and modular homes can provide a realistic path to not only owning a home, but being an environmental steward where homeowners can maintain a smaller budget, fewer repairs, and do their part to reduce their carbon footprint.

Whether it be for economic or societal reasons, the market of tiny homes appears ready to make a big splash in the area of home development, and it will stand as a wise choice to all who are ready to wade into it.

 

U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry at Consumer Energy Alliance Forum: Innovation and Choice Key to Future of Electrical Grid and America’s Energy Sector

WASHINGTON, D.C  —  Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA), a national advocate for energy consumers, today hosted “The Future of Electricity Forum” in Washington, D.C., with a keynote speech by U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry. The event featured various energy policy experts who spoke about the current power system in the United States, the future of the electrical grid and America’s energy sector.

During the presentation, speakers from across all fuel types stressed the need for an all-of-the-above energy strategy that does not pit fuel sources against each other. They also discussed their primary concerns surrounding grid reliability and resiliency, and how technological innovations are modernizing the American energy sector.

Perry was joined by the following business leaders, policymakers and organizations:

  • Michelle Bloodworth, President and CEO, ACCCE
  • Marc Brown, President, New England Ratepayers Association
  • Kevin Knobloch, President of New York Ocean Grid LLC, Anbaric Development Partners
  • John Berger, President and CEO, Sunnova
  • Stacy Derstine, Vice President of Customer Service and Chief Customer Officer, APS
  • William Murray, Vice President of State and Public Policy, Dominion Energy
  • Kirk Johnson, Senior Vice President Government Affairs, NRECA
  • Matt Crozat, Senior Director for Policy Development, NEI
  • Michael Whatley, Executive Vice President, CEA

At the event, Secretary of Energy Rick Perry stated that:

“Today, consumers have more choices, more information, and more say in their energy choices than ever before. Whether you’re an individual consumer here in the U.S. or an energy importing country like those I just recently visited in Central Europe, your choices are plentiful and increasing.  And much of that is due to the innovation that is led and supported by the Department of Energy.”

Whatley highlighted the importance of leaders coming together to discuss the future of our country’s electricity.

“The conversation on grid reliability, resiliency and security is critical because we need states, utilities and the federal government looking for long-term solutions to the challenges and risks that are facing the grid today,” Whatley said. “We are no longer asking whether renewables are going to be a significant factor in our electricity mix. Instead, we have to ask how are we going to incorporate them into our fuel mix in a way that will increase reliability and keep costs lower for energy consumers. It is vital for policy makers to look at how new technologies are changing the energy landscape and lead our nation towards more innovative energy solutions.”

Bloodworth on resiliency of the grid following fleet retirements across the country:

“Over the past several years, some 40 percent of the U.S. coal fleet has either retired or announced plans to retire.  Due to the continued retirement of the coal fleet, federal and state officials along with industry stakeholders are raising serious concerns about the resilience of the electric grid. I appreciate the opportunity to participate in CEA’s Forum to share my perspective on the important work that policymakers can undertake to ensure we preserve the existing coal fleet. Coal is an affordable, reliable, and fuel secure energy resource that provides almost one-third of our nation’s electricity.”

Brown discussed the importance of having a more rationale energy policy:

“Too often regulators and elected officials do not understand or appreciate the impacts that political policies are having on our energy markets. As a result, we as a region, and even nationally, are headed down a path of increased costs and decreased reliability,” Brown said. “Businesses, families, generators, utilities and anyone concerned about the escalating costs of electricity should join to fight for less government interference and more open energy markets.”

Berger highlighted the changing landscape of the country’s power mix as it relates to solar energy:

“The U.S. energy system is changing rapidly due to pressures from consumer demand, energy preferences and advancing technology. It’s time for a wholesale rethinking of the current energy system, rather than trying to fit innovation into the status quo.” He concluded saying, “Let’s build an energy system for the 21st century that will ultimately result in cheaper, cleaner and more reliable energy options for consumers.”

Knobloch spoke about investments being made up the Eastern seaboard:

“The rapid growth of land-based wind energy and the emerging promise of offshore wind at scale and increasing affordability is exciting, but to fully realize this powerful new economic sector we must thoughtfully plan now for modern transmission infrastructure that can efficiently deliver those clean electrons to the American factories, businesses and homes that need them.”

Derstein with APS touted the rapid growth and the need for storage:

APS is at the forefront of developing solar resources and has one of the largest solar portfolios in the nation, with 1.6 gigawatts of solar capacity on our system, and we aren’t stopping there. We are setting the course for a sustainable energy future for our customers – leading the solar-plus-battery-storage effort, advancing innovation, updating service plans and doing ground-breaking research to allow solar energy to be stored and used over longer periods of time while maintaining reliability and cost effectiveness for our customers.

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About Consumer Energy Alliance
Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) brings together families, farmers, small businesses, distributors, producers and manufacturers to support America’s energy future. With more than 500,000 members nationwide, our mission is to help ensure stable prices and energy security for households across the country. We believe energy development is something that touches everyone in our nation, and thus it is necessary for all of us to actively engage in the conversation about how we develop our diverse energy resources and energy’s importance to the economy. Learn more at ConsumerEnergyAlliance.org.

Contact:
Emily Haggstrom
P: 720-582-0242
ehaggstrom@consumerenergyalliance.org

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