Programs aim to help customers save energy, money

By Kathy Barks Hoffman Associated Press LANSING (AP) -- A program offering Michigan homeowners and businesses the chance to earn rebates for making their buildings more energy efficient is getting a warm review from utilities, environmentalists and customers. "We're finding these programs are hugely popular," said Dan Bishop of Consumers Energy Co. The Jackson-based utility and many others throughout the state are working with private contractors to offer energy assessments that can mean hundreds and even thousands of dollars in rebates to customers who add insulation, caulk windows and make other changes once the assessments are done. It's all part of meeting a requirement in the 2008 legislative package that rewrote Michigan's energy laws. The law requires the utilities to work with customers to reduce electric use by 5.5 percent and natural gas use by 3.85 percent by 2015. To meet that goal, all 63 utility companies in the state, ranging from tiny cooperatives to utility giants Consumers Energy and Detroit Edison, have submitted plans to the Michigan Public Service Commission on ways they can help their customers save energy and money while delaying the need to build expensive new power plants. Over the next three years, energy efficiency programs are expected to save Michigan utility customers $1.2 billion as they buy less electricity and natural gas, the commission's website says. It estimates that utility customers save $3 in avoided energy costs for every $1 they spend on energy efficiency. The Michigan Environmental Council, which supports energy conservation and has opposed plans to build new coal-burning electric plants in the state, notes that a Public Service Commission report released earlier this year showed that the energy saved through increased efficiency is one-tenth the cost of energy created through new power generation. "Energy conservation is the least expensive and fastest way to meet our energy needs, and it's the only energy option that actually saves customers money," council spokesman Hugh McDiarmid said. For Karen Ammarman of Dimondale, getting an energy audit and signing up for the improvements suggested by the workers at Dr. Energy Saver made sense. The Lansing-based company first approached her with low-cost ideas on how to save energy, offering to give her two compact fluorescent light bulbs and a water-saving shower head that could cut down on the use of hot water. It then offered to do a comprehensive energy audit of her home. With the $100 rebate from Consumers Energy, the audit cost her $100. After taking thermal images of her home and conducting a forced air test that showed where heat was escaping, John Kutas of Dr. Energy Saver had some suggestions. There was little attic insulation in the 1985 three-bedroom ranch house, so beefing it up with 12 to 15 inches of new insulation would make a significant difference, he said. So would caulking windows and doors and insulating the can lights and soffits in her kitchen. Kutas told her the work could be done for $5,000 and that Consumers Energy would give her $1,425 in rebates. Ammarman didn't choose to do everything the company suggested, but opted for most of the improvements. Once a three-man crew did all the work last week, she said she can notice a difference already. "It was something in the back of my mind that I wanted to do because I was always cold," said Ammarman, who has lived in her Lansing-area subdivision since 1989. Once she had the results of the audit, she could see that "whatever heat you were pouring into it was just rushing out." An independent inspector found a 30 percent improvement on an infiltration test showing how much heat was leaking out of the house after the insulation and caulking were added, she said. The price of the audits can vary, depending on what companies are doing them and what's involved. Consumers Energy residential customers, for instance, can spend from $99 to $450 getting a comprehensive audit done by a contractor while qualifying for a $100 rebate. Other rebates vary by what kind of work is done. Adding insulation to a home, for instance, can bring a Consumers Energy rebate of up to $400, while replacing a furnace with a high-efficiency one can bring a rebate of up to $825. Even getting a tuneup for a furnace or central air conditioning is worth a $50 rebate. Most rebates are available if the changes are made without the comprehensive audit, although they're generally larger if the changes come after an energy audit. Businesses can get rebates for installing insulation and pipe wrap, gas water heaters, more energy-efficient lighting and more efficient fans and pumps on heating and air conditioning systems, among other changes. Teri Van Sumeren, manager of energy efficiency programs at Consumers Energy, said the utility will continue the rebate program through 2015. She estimates adopting energy efficient measures have saved the company's 6.8 million customers at least $67 million over the past two years and that a typical residential customer has saved about $160. More than 21,000 business customers have participated in at least one energy efficiency program, saving about $32 million since the program was launched in 2009, she said. The utilities are winners as well. The law allows them to pay their shareholders a performance incentive if the companies exceed their annual energy savings targets. Lower demand for electricity means they're less likely to have to build or upgrade power plants that must meet potentially costly environmental standards. And there's no carbon footprint for energy that's never generated. "The cleanest kilowatt hour is the one that you don't have to provide," Van Sumeren said. ---------------- Online: Michigan Public Service Commission: http://www.michigan.gov/mpsc. Published: Wed, Nov 30, 2011