Summer Heating Up; Use Energy Wisely and Save Money

NEW YORK – With temperatures pushing 90 degrees over the next three days, Con Edison reminds customers to use energy wisely and save money.

The company also said it will have crews ready to respond to heat-related service problems that may occur. To prepare for the summer of 2013, Con Edison invested $1.2 billion to upgrade its electric delivery system and enhance reliability.

Con Edison offers a variety of energy-efficiency programs for savings. The company is offering $25 to residential customers who buy an ENERGY STAR® room air conditioner between May 20 and Aug. 30. ENERGY STAR® air conditioners use at least 10 percent less electricity than other models. To view of a video on the rebate program, click here: video on AC rebates.

Rebates are limited to two per account holder. Find the application here: http://www.coned.com/energyefficiency/energystar.asp. To learn about other energy efficiency incentives, visit Con Edison’s Green Team at www.coned.com/greenteam, or call 1-877-870-6118.

For customers with central air and heating systems, Con Edison is offering a free smart thermostat to control the temperature in their home, business or religious building remotely. With the thermostat, a customer can adjust the temperature via the internet or with a smart phone and save energy.

Con Edison will install the thermostats for free. Residential or residential religious-rate customers will receive a gift of $25 after installation. Business customers will get $50.

The summer peak demand forecast in Con Edison’s service area is 13,200 megawatts (MW): 11,485 MW for New York City and 1,715 MW for Westchester County. The company does not expect to approach those numbers this week.

The record of 13,189 MW was set July 22, 2011 at 4 p.m. In-city power supplies are more than sufficient to meet the 86 percent in-city generation requirement.

System-wide improvements include 31 network transformers, six new feeders, 207 overhead transformers, and reinforcement of 46 feeders, 100 underground sections and 250 overhead spans. Upgrades to two unit substations have been completed.

Con Edison offers the following money-saving conservation tips:

Turn off air conditioners, lights and other appliances when not at home and use a timer to turn on your air conditioner about a half-hour before arriving home;

Keep air conditioner filters clean for peak efficiency;

Set thermostats no lower than 78 degrees. Each degree lower increases cooling costs by 6 percent;

If you have a room air-conditioning unit, close off the rooms not being used; if you have central air, block the vents in unused or vacant rooms;

To reduce heat and moisture in your home, run appliances such as ovens, washing machines, dryers and dishwashers in the early morning or late at night when it’s cooler outside. Cook with a microwave or barbecue outside, if possible;

Keep shades, blinds and curtains closed. About 40 percent of unwanted heat comes through windows;

Try using fans instead of air conditioners, but leave your windows open for ventilation. Fans use as little as one-tenth the energy as air conditioners.

Customers can report downed power lines, outages, and check service restoration status at http://www.coned.com/sm/ or by calling 1-800-75-CONED (1-800-752-6633). When reporting an outage, customers should have their Con Edison account number available, if possible, and report whether their neighbors also have lost power.

Also, download our new free iPhone and Android app, My conEdison, to report and check the status of a power problem, and view our interactive online outage map.

Customers who report outages will be called by Con Edison with their estimated restoration times as they become available. Customers can also follow @ConEdison or like us on Facebook at Con Edison for general outage updates, safety tips and storm preparation information.