Power Pilot is Over

The power company contacted us this spring to let us know that our year in the Critical Peak Pilot program would be nearing an end and just before we left for the beach we received another letter to let us know we were done. They also included in that correspondence a spreadsheet with our savings for the year and information that the program should be rolled out as an option to everyone starting in 2010.

It was nice to see that we did in fact save money. I wish we'd saved more but considering that we had some significant hurdles - including renovating our bathroom in August last year - at a couple of points in the year we did very well. Overall, we saved $180. Personally, considering that we already do the basics - use CFF bulbs, turn off lights when we leave the room, use a programmable thermostat, use ceiling fans, etc, I wasn't sure how much savings we'd see. But by changing our habits some more we saved even more money and I'll definitely be signing up for the new program when it's rolled out in the new year!

If you are interested in how you can continue to lower your power bill and you already do all the regular things don't forget that most power companies will offer a free power audit. Also, it can't hurt to ask if they have plans for a program like the Critical Peak Pricing program. Perhaps if they have enough people ask about it they'll figure out it's a Cool Idea, too!