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| Holiday Energy Use Can Add Up! |
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UPPCO Offers Holiday Energy Savings Tips |
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(Ishpeming, MI) - Upper Peninsula Power Company (UPPCO) offers a
wide array of energy saving ideas and safety tips for customers
during the holiday season. UPPCO urges customers to consider using
light-emitting-diode (LED) holiday lights as they use up to 90
percent less electricity, last up to ten times longer than standard
bulbs, produce almost no heat and are very durable. LED lights,
while more expensive to buy, have an encased solid-state
semi-conductor chip that provides a bright light at significantly
less operating cost than a conventional filament bulb. There may be
incentive rebates available through local retailers to encourage the
purchase of LED lights. The cost to keep a string of 100 LED lights
operating for an entire month is only about 10 cents, compared to
conventional lights that could cost $1.00. LED lights are available in strings from 20 to 150 bulbs with white, yellow, red, green and blue bulbs. There are many styles available including mini-ice, faceted, smooth globe and faceted sphere. If customers are using older lights in their displays, UPPCO recommends a programmable on/off timer switch so lighting displays will automatically turn on and off at a specific time. This avoids leaving the lights on all day or all night. Another benefit of the automatic timer is security for residents because it gives the appearance that someone is home even while residents are away. UPPCO has provided "Holiday Energy Savings Tips," along with a "lighting cost calculator" on the UPPCO internet website: www.uppco.com under the "For Homes" section. The website also provides holiday tips on lighting, entertaining, home heating and safety. According to UPPCO, the system-wide electric load will typically increase from one to four percent in the evening hours during the month of December. This is due to residential holiday lighting and an increase in retail store hours and home entertaining. The typical home that includes an exterior and interior holiday lighting display will see an electric bill increase from $10 to $60 for the months the displays are in use. The increase will be noted in the customer's January bill. UPPCO encourages the "Gift of Energy" as a holiday gift idea. UPPCO Energy Gift Certificates are available in any amount as the certificate can be used to help pay for the recipient's electric bill. UPPCO records indicate about 45 energy gift certificates were purchased in December of last year at the average cost of around $115. The "Gift of Energy" certificates can be purchased online at the UPPCO internet site: www.uppco.com under the "For Homes" section, click on "Gift Certificates." On that page, UPPCO also offers a "Shopping List" that includes a number of energy saving ideas to consider, as well as "The 12 Days of Savings" which is a free download that includes one dozen ways to save energy. For More Information, Contact: • Jodi Pineau Customer Relations Leader 906-485-2403 • UPPCO Customer Service |
