[Ever since we had our home energy audit done back in November, we’ve gotten several more solicitations from companies offering to do one for us, and only charge us $75. Luckily, since we are Wallingford residents our energy audit cost us nothing, as the cost was covered by the town. As we’ve said before, energy audits are a great service that can pinpoint the places in your home that can rob you of precious heat and allow you to have them fixed.

But, are the audits done through the utility companies all they’re cracked up to be? After a conversation with our good friend and home inspector extraordinaire Jim Quarello, we’re not so sure. Jim was kind enough to provide us with a professional’s viewpoint and has allowed us to publish it here.]

Are the Utility Companies Duping the Public?

by James Quarello, ASHI Certified CT Home Inspector

As everyone is well aware, the cost of energy has gone significantly higher in the last couple of years. This has spurred an interest in energy conservation. A little late in my opinion, kind of like closing the door after the dog gets out, but I digress.

Because higher energy costs hit everyone where it hurts, their wallet, the utility companies have been forced through public outcry to offer some kind of relief. Now I do not know what is being done or proposed in other states across the nation, I will only be focusing on where I live and work, Connecticut.

What has been instituted in Connecticut through the two major electric utilities, Connecticut Light & Power (CL&P) and United Illuminating (UI) is a program titled Home Energy Solutions (HES). This is touted by the utilities as; “A Comprehensive Service to Help Lower Your Energy Bills”.

The HES program is funded through the Connecticut Energy Efficiency Fund (CEEF). The CEEF is financially supported by all CL&P and UI customers through the conservation charge on their electric bills and paid for by customers of Connecticut Natural Gas, Southern Connecticut Gas and Yankee Gas. In other words, the customers are paying for this service. In essence, it’s a give back.

The service, however, is not free; there is a charge of $75 for most customers, with the only exception that I’m aware of being for Wallingford Electric Division (WED) customers. This program is free for those lucky enough to have WED as their electric provider.

The cost of the program is a bargain and I encourage everyone to take advantage of this service with one caveat: do not expect to save much money on your utility bills after the job has been completed.

The focus of the program is repairs to the home. Not specific repairs identified for each individual home, but more a blanket approach. The web page explaining what the program encompasses states:

The service may include, followed by a list of energy repairs and upgrades.

The most significant and impressive of these is the blower door assisted air sealing. Unfortunately, the job is focused on finding big leaks in order to drop the reading a few hundred points. The job performed is in no way complete or comprehensive.

The purpose of this dissection of the HES program is to provide understanding to homeowners in Connecticut who are seeking relief on their energy costs. The utility companies are selling the perception that this program will provide a significant and comprehensive solution to homeowner’s high energy costs. This, in fact,, is not the case.

As a home energy auditor/inspector, I have performed many audits on homes after the HES program was completed. The homeowners contacted my company because:

1. Their energy bills were still high and they were dissatisfied, and
2. They were seeking advice from a knowledgeable, independent energy professional

My company conducts a service called the Home Energy Tune-uP, a comprehensive energy efficiency improvement analysis specific to the individual home. No repairs are performed; instead,, the energy wasting culprits are first identified and then a report is assembled in which each available cost effective energy saving measure is charted. What in effect is presented to the customer is a pin point plan of how and where they can save money on energy in their home.

The other, and most important, aspect of the Tune-uP service is the fact it is performed by Connecticut licensed home inspectors, not contractors (who are not licensed). Home inspectors analyze homes almost every day. In order to perform their jobs, home inspectors must be knowledgeable on the plethora of components and systems found in a home. As a licensed profession this requires initially obtaining formal training and doing an in field apprenticeship followed by continuing education in order to maintain the license.

So, are the utility companies duping the public? Maybe a little, but it’s always been caveat emptor, buyer beware. The utility customer should research the program to understand the scope and focus of the service. It is certainly worthwhile for every utility customer to take advantage of the program. If the homeowner is seeking solutions and expert advice, a Home Energy Tune-uP should be the first step to resolving their high energy costs. In fact, having a Tune-uP done before the HES program would provide the homeowner education on precisely what their home needs to be more energy efficient.

[Thanks to Jim for this article. If anyone is interested in availing themselves of his services, Jim can be reached at (203) 697-1147 or through his web site at JRV Home Inspections.]

Post from: Wallingford Wired©2009 by Pat & Wayne Harriman

Are the Utility Companies Duping the Public?

Save Money, Pick Your Electric Provider

Back in November we wrote a post about having a Home Energy Audit done on our home. It was free, fairly fast…and eye-opening. It revealed several “illegal points of entry” for cold air to come rampaging into our otherwise snug little abode, and once we got those little buggers sealed up our energy efficiency improved quite a bit. But, there is still room for improvement in our home’s energy usage.

A couple of weeks ago I got an email that piqued my interest. It explained that if you are currently a customer of Connecticut Light & Power (CL&P) or United Illuminating (UI), you are NOT obligated to keep them as your electricity provider and showed how to save money by switching to one of the many providers of wholesale electricity available to state residents. The one used in the example was Viridian Energy, a relative newcomer to the cast of companies providing electricity to Connecticut residents.

During my research into switching electric providers, I was surprised to learn that only about 16% of Connecticut residents have chosen an electric supplier. This was particularly surprising given the fact that CL&P and UI offer the most expensive electricity in the state at about 12.4 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh). Of the 40+ electric suppliers and aggregators currently available, none of them charges more than 12 cents per kWh, and Viridian Energy is the lowest at 9.79 cents per kWh. That’s about a 21% savings over CL&P and UI, which could mean a significant savings over time.

There’s Always a Catch…

There is one catch to this, though: if you live in Wallingford (as we do), you stuck with Wallingford Electric as your source of electricity. I mean that in a good way, though. Wallingford Electric has some of the lowest electric rates in the state, and is currently in their Winter billing cycle (from November to April) with rates at 9.63 cents per kWh for usage up to 700 kWh, and 9.4 cents per kWh for anything over that. During the Summer billing cycle the rates go up to 10.93 cents per kWh for the initial 700 kWh, and 11.6 cents per kWh for additional usage.

If you’re currently a customer of CL&P or UI, do yourself a favor and head over to the CT Energy Info web site and compare your current rates to what’s available through the other providers. There’s a ton of info there to help you make an intelligent decision and you just might end up saving a few bucks, too.

In these uncertain economic times, that’s a powerful incentive!

Post from: Wallingford Wired©2009 by Pat & Wayne Harriman

Save Money, Pick Your Electric Provider

Back in December we reported about the price hike that Wallingford Electric was implementing to correct an “error in calculation”by CMEEC (Connecticut Municipal Electrical Energy Cooperative), the company they purchase their energy from. We were hoping that was the last increase we’d see for a while. It seems we were mistaken.

The New Increase

Faced with increased operating expenses and decreased demand for electricity, the Department of Public Utilities is hoping to raise electric rates by 2.5% in the coming year. If it’s approved, the average residential customer using 700 kilowatt hours of electricity would see an additional $2.50 added to their bill, making the average bill about $99.50. Department Director george Adair said the increases were necessary due to declines in sales during the past year that were causing revenues to be lower than expected. He attributed the drop in sales to a sluggish economy and the success of the department’s energy conservation efforts.

“A Double-Edged Sword”

Robert Beaumont, a member of the Public Utilities Commission, said the department’s energy conservation programs is a “double-edged sword”, since they help consumers decrease their energy consumption but also cause a drop in revenue that must be made up elsewhere. Richard Hendershot, General Manager of the Electric Division, said that they never told consumers that energy conservation would lower their rates, they said it would lower their consumption.

Well, isn’t that the one of the purposes of conserving energy, to lower your energy bill? We all want to save energy to help the environment and conserve our resources, but don’t most people first think of energy conservation as a means to save money in this economy? Don’t we use fluorescent light bulbs, programmable thermostats, home energy audits and Energy Star compliant appliances because of the potential savings on our electric bill? We know we do. We’re persuaded to think that lower consumption equals lower cost, so we follow all the energy-saving tips we can find to help put a few dollars back in our overtaxed wallets. Now the Electric Division is showing us the error in our math.

Other Utility Hikes

Also part of the budget proposal that contained the electric rate hike were hikes for Water and Sewer customers as well. Slated to begin June 1st, charges for water usage could rise from $2.66 to $2.88 per hundred cubic feet, while sewer rates would rise from $3.52 to $3.73, a quarterly increase of about $9.00.

Mayor William Dickinson has said that he has asked all departments to submit budgets that do not show an increase from the previous year, but the Department of Public Utilities couldn’t comply, citing salary and benefit increases and the previously mentioned “error in calculation” from CMEEC as primary causes. The budget still has to be approved by Dickinson and then go before the Town Council for approval before the rate hikes will take effect. We hope that they will see reason and ask for an amendment to the department’s budget before passing it.

Please feel free to weigh in with your opinion on this proposed rate hike in the comments.

Post from: Wallingford Wired©2009 by Pat & Wayne Harriman

Wallingford Electric Roller Coaster Ride Continues