Individual Benefits

High and rising energy prices are eroding income and financial stability.  Heating oil now costs approximately $4 a gallon, coal has tripled in the last few years, and natural gas has more than doubled.  As energy prices rise, so do food and virtually all consumer goods.  And now with the expiration of the state’s remaining electricity rate caps, electricity rate increases will range from 25 to 100%, according to the Office of the Consumer Advocate.

The Era of Cheap Energy is over. The Age of Expensive Energy has arrived.

Energy prices will continue to rise as long as our economy is fossil fuel based and these fuels are finite.
Pennsylvania is now developing and promoting its own clean energy resources:  wind, solar, biomass and energy conservation. Energy conservation is the cleanest, cheapest, and most abundant clean energy resource in America.   Conservation and efficiency is fully 51% of the clean energy resource in the USA.   Conservation costs 2 ½ to 3 cents per kilowatt hour, compared to more than 5 cents for coal, and 15 cents for nuclear.  It can also be deployed in a very short timeframe.

Before the remaining electricity price caps come off by December 31, 2010 you can take steps to reduce your energy use and thus protect you and your family from the impact of these rate increases.
It’s important to understand how much consumers gain by saving energy.  Energy conservation provides all the following benefits:

1. Increased comfort:  Conservation eliminates drafts and uneven distribution of heating and cooling in the home.
2. Elimination of health and safety problems:  The Home Performance with ENERGY STAR program provides a comprehensive whole house audit to identify the most cost effective energy saving opportunities in the home.  In the homes audited to date, gas leaks have been found in a surprisingly high number of homes.  Other common health and safety problems in homes include elevated levels of carbon monoxide (CO) from incomplete combustion and cracked heat exchangers.
3. Elimination of moisture and mildew problems:  The whole house audit will also inspect for moisture problems and provide mitigation measures to eliminate these types of problems. 
4. Energy Affordability:  These days, between skyrocketing energy prices, mounting mortgage foreclosures, and declining real incomes, homeowners are under increasing financial pressure.  By significantly reducing energy consumption and costs, you will become more able to control your energy costs.