Delmarva Power proposes new energy efficiency initiatives
Delmarva Power submitted a proposal to the Delaware Public Service Commission (PSC) to provide residential customers with no-cost energy assessments, incentives for energy efficiency upgrades, and a variety of offerings to help customer reduce their energy use and save money.
Overall, Delmarva Power’s proposed programs are expected to save Delaware customers over 80,000 megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity. That translates to about $38 million in lifecycle benefits to participants over a three-year period — from 2024-2026.
“We understand that high costs of goods and services are top of mind for our customers,” Morlon Bell-Izzard, senior vice president and chief customer officer for Pepco Holdings, which includes Delmarva Power, said. “These programs will help provide every customer with the tools and resources to make their homes more energy efficient and reduce their monthly energy bills.”
Currently, Delmarva Power offers two energy efficiency programs. One is home energy reports for residential customers, which achieved over 63,000 MWh of savings from 2020 to 2022. The other is an appliance recycling program, which showed savings of over 3,100 MWh. The company’s new programs will build on these offerings with more opportunities. The Appliance Recycling encourages customers to recycle responsibly by offering removal of older, inefficient appliances, while the Home Energy Reports provides customers with cost-saving monthly reports containing energy usage comparisons with similar customers, energy efficiency tips and information on customer’s previous energy usage.
The new proposed programs include Energy Star for New Homes, which encourages builders to construct energy efficient new homes through incentives, training, and builder support. Another is called Quick Home Energy Check (QHEC), which educates renters and homeowners on energy efficiency with an initial assessment of their home’s energy use, installs simple energy-saving measures and identifies energy-saving opportunities for further consideration.
“We see every day that many low-income households are more likely to have energy inefficient homes than higher income households,” Kevin Gilmore, CEO, Sussex County Habitat for Humanity, said. “Our experience is that programs like those being proposed by Delmarva Power can positively improve the quality of life for many Delawareans.”
The company worked with stakeholders, other utilities, and community partners to evaluate national best practices and design the most cost-effective and beneficial programs. If approved by the PSC, they will begin offering initial programs starting in January 2024.
Cost-benefit analyses show that the programs’ costs will be more than offset by savings and benefits for customers gained through bill savings for participating customers, economic growth and reduced pollution. Based on the current proposal, the typical residential customer would see a 45-cent increase on their monthly bill in the first year of the programs. However, customers who participate in the programs are expected to see a net savings on their energy bills.
