Peco to launch energy-conservation efforts
Part of it will be a new LED light system atop headquarters.
By Andrew Maykuth
The Philadelphia Inquirer, June 28, 2009
Minutes before Sheryl Crow takes the stage Saturday night for the July Fourth concert, Peco Energy Co. plans to steal the spotlight for a few minutes with an elaborate inauguration of the new crown lights that encircle the top of its Center City headquarters.
The Philadelphia electric utility has developed a seven-minute show to display the full graphic and color capability of the 40-foot-high lights, situated atop Peco's 27-floor tower.
The new system, which employs 2 million energy-efficient LEDs (light-emitting diodes) to replace 2,600 screw-in bulbs in use since 1976, is similar to the jumbo television screens now common in stadiums. It promises to make the now-retired block-letter crawl seem as ancient as the telegraph.
"It is amazing how clear it is," said Peco spokeswoman Cathy Engel.
When Peco began replacing its signature crown lights in January, it heralded the change as the most visible aspect of a $15 million green initiative. The LEDs consume 18.5 kilowatts, about 40 percent less than the old incandescent system.
But with much less fanfare, Peco this week will announce the details of a vast conservation effort that will eclipse the savings achieved by the new crown-light system.
By Wednesday, Peco and Pennsylvania's six other large electric utilities must file energy-efficiency and conservation plans with the Public Utility Commission to comply with a state-mandated deadline. Peco has not yet released details of its plan, but Engel said the utility would propose spending $342 million on conservation efforts over the next four years.
The utility will give away thousands of compact fluorescent bulbs, subsidize home-weatherization projects, and provide discounts on energy-efficient appliances, Engel said. To make sure inefficient refrigerators and air conditioners are not reused, the utility also will arrange to pick up old appliances and send them to the scrap heap.
Though Peco already markets energy-efficient bulbs and appliances, the plan amounts to a dramatic escalation of conservation efforts to comply with Act 129, which Gov. Rendell signed in October.
The law requires the state's seven big electric utilities to reduce consumption 3 percent by May 2013 or face penalties up to $20 million.
Three percent may not sound like much, but electrical consumption in Pennsylvania has routinely grown 1.5 percent a year, so a reduction amounts to a massive momentum shift.
In Peco's case, the annual reduction will amount to 1.2 billion kilowatt-hours - the equivalent of knocking 120,000 households off the grid. Peco has 1.6 million customers.
"If fully implemented, it will make Pennsylvania a leader in energy conservation, a Top 5 state," John Hanger, secretary of Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection, said in an interview Friday.
"This law is going to make a big difference," said Irwin A. "Sonny" Popowsky, the state's consumer advocate.
Popowsky and Hanger gave Peco high marks for consulting with interested parties while drafting its plan. "They've shown an eagerness to reach out," Hanger said.
Besides the requirement to reduce total consumption, the law also requires utilities to cut peak demand 4.5 percent by 2013.
Cutting peak demand reduces the amount of power-generation capacity that must be maintained to satisfy customers during the most energy-intensive hours - usually the hottest summer afternoons, when air-conditioning use pushes the limits of the grid.
Across the state, a 4.5 percent reduction translates into the avoided cost of building 1,193 megawatts of capacity, the equivalent of one nuclear reactor.
Utilities have until Aug. 14 to show how they plan to deploy smart-meter technology, which would allow residential customers to curb consumption during peak hours by opting for time-of-day pricing. Big industrial and commercial customers can already take advantage of cheaper evening rates by curtailing power use during peak hours.
The law requires utilities to phase in the new meters over a 15-year period, though customers who want to get them sooner can pay for them.
The DEP's Hanger said the new plan put Pennsylvania more in line with New Jersey, California, and New York.
He said that the 3 percent reduction was a "first step," and that the legislature likely would be asked to set higher targets in the future.
The law allows for adjustments to the conservation targets because of unusual economic or weather conditions - utilities cannot claim they curbed consumption if the state experiences unusually cool summers, for instance.
"We want full implementation of the law, not halfhearted implementation," Hanger said. He argued that it was in consumers' best interest to reduce consumption in "smart, comfortable ways."
"When enough consumers conserve, it lowers prices," he said, pointing to the drop in gasoline prices last year after motorists cut consumption.
Peco's plan no doubt will include promoting conservation by shouting it from the rooftop in messages flashed from its new crown lights.
In recent weeks, Peco has been testing the new lights to make sure the system is functioning for July Fourth.
The light display is 172 feet wide along the north and south sides of the building, and 76 feet wide on the narrower sides. The new system was installed by C. Erickson & Sons in conjunction with YESCO Electronics.
The lights are actually a series of 2-foot-wide panels, which have a striped appearance when viewed nearby.
Its policy of keeping the messages noncommercial is unchanged, Peco said. In three decades, the utility has flashed more than 17,825 messages saluting community and nonprofit organizations.
The Philadelphia electric utility has developed a seven-minute show to display the full graphic and color capability of the 40-foot-high lights, situated atop Peco's 27-floor tower.
The new system, which employs 2 million energy-efficient LEDs (light-emitting diodes) to replace 2,600 screw-in bulbs in use since 1976, is similar to the jumbo television screens now common in stadiums. It promises to make the now-retired block-letter crawl seem as ancient as the telegraph.
"It is amazing how clear it is," said Peco spokeswoman Cathy Engel.
When Peco began replacing its signature crown lights in January, it heralded the change as the most visible aspect of a $15 million green initiative. The LEDs consume 18.5 kilowatts, about 40 percent less than the old incandescent system.
But with much less fanfare, Peco this week will announce the details of a vast conservation effort that will eclipse the savings achieved by the new crown-light system.
By Wednesday, Peco and Pennsylvania's six other large electric utilities must file energy-efficiency and conservation plans with the Public Utility Commission to comply with a state-mandated deadline. Peco has not yet released details of its plan, but Engel said the utility would propose spending $342 million on conservation efforts over the next four years.
The utility will give away thousands of compact fluorescent bulbs, subsidize home-weatherization projects, and provide discounts on energy-efficient appliances, Engel said. To make sure inefficient refrigerators and air conditioners are not reused, the utility also will arrange to pick up old appliances and send them to the scrap heap.
Though Peco already markets energy-efficient bulbs and appliances, the plan amounts to a dramatic escalation of conservation efforts to comply with Act 129, which Gov. Rendell signed in October.
The law requires the state's seven big electric utilities to reduce consumption 3 percent by May 2013 or face penalties up to $20 million.
Three percent may not sound like much, but electrical consumption in Pennsylvania has routinely grown 1.5 percent a year, so a reduction amounts to a massive momentum shift.
In Peco's case, the annual reduction will amount to 1.2 billion kilowatt-hours - the equivalent of knocking 120,000 households off the grid. Peco has 1.6 million customers.
"If fully implemented, it will make Pennsylvania a leader in energy conservation, a Top 5 state," John Hanger, secretary of Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection, said in an interview Friday.
"This law is going to make a big difference," said Irwin A. "Sonny" Popowsky, the state's consumer advocate.
Popowsky and Hanger gave Peco high marks for consulting with interested parties while drafting its plan. "They've shown an eagerness to reach out," Hanger said.
Besides the requirement to reduce total consumption, the law also requires utilities to cut peak demand 4.5 percent by 2013.
Cutting peak demand reduces the amount of power-generation capacity that must be maintained to satisfy customers during the most energy-intensive hours - usually the hottest summer afternoons, when air-conditioning use pushes the limits of the grid.
Across the state, a 4.5 percent reduction translates into the avoided cost of building 1,193 megawatts of capacity, the equivalent of one nuclear reactor.
Utilities have until Aug. 14 to show how they plan to deploy smart-meter technology, which would allow residential customers to curb consumption during peak hours by opting for time-of-day pricing. Big industrial and commercial customers can already take advantage of cheaper evening rates by curtailing power use during peak hours.
The law requires utilities to phase in the new meters over a 15-year period, though customers who want to get them sooner can pay for them.
The DEP's Hanger said the new plan put Pennsylvania more in line with New Jersey, California, and New York.
He said that the 3 percent reduction was a "first step," and that the legislature likely would be asked to set higher targets in the future.
The law allows for adjustments to the conservation targets because of unusual economic or weather conditions - utilities cannot claim they curbed consumption if the state experiences unusually cool summers, for instance.
"We want full implementation of the law, not halfhearted implementation," Hanger said. He argued that it was in consumers' best interest to reduce consumption in "smart, comfortable ways."
"When enough consumers conserve, it lowers prices," he said, pointing to the drop in gasoline prices last year after motorists cut consumption.
Peco's plan no doubt will include promoting conservation by shouting it from the rooftop in messages flashed from its new crown lights.
In recent weeks, Peco has been testing the new lights to make sure the system is functioning for July Fourth.
The light display is 172 feet wide along the north and south sides of the building, and 76 feet wide on the narrower sides. The new system was installed by C. Erickson & Sons in conjunction with YESCO Electronics.
The lights are actually a series of 2-foot-wide panels, which have a striped appearance when viewed nearby.
Its policy of keeping the messages noncommercial is unchanged, Peco said. In three decades, the utility has flashed more than 17,825 messages saluting community and nonprofit organizations.