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Energy Savings Tips
With the dramatic increase in AmerenIP’s electricity rates last January, everyone is concerned about the cost to heat and power their homes. With summer just around the corner, even more people will be effected when the high temperatures and heat indexes require the activation of air conditioning units.
The City of O’Fallon is also concerned about the effect the electric rate increase will have on City operations. For example, we have over 7,000 street lights that cost from $12 to $21 per light per month. If the cost to power these lights goes up by 50%, the City’s AmerenIP bill will increase $50,000 per month. We will also be greatly impacted with air conditioning costs for our City facilities this summer.
It’s too early to tell what the State Legislature will do, but the City is moving forward. We are working with Cost Plus Corporation to explore the possibility of purchasing power wholesale to operate City facilities and then paying AmerenIP to deliver the power to us. This method has proven to be a big cost saver in other parts of the country, and we are optimistic that it could work for us too. We are currently in the fact-gathering stage while we wait for a final answer from the State Legislature.
Residents have asked the City if utility fee receipts will increase because of the higher electric rates. It is still too early in the process to determine if there will be an increase in receipts. At this point, it does not appear to be the case. Utility fee receipts were down for both December 2006 and January 2007 when compared to the numbers from last year for those two months. You may be wondering why the receipts would be down this year from last year. Utility costs are typically weather driven, and we believe that our residents may have put conservation measures in place when the rate increase was announced, thereby reducing their usage and the amount of fee paid.
Aldermen John West, Nila Grogan, Jason Boone and Phil Gardner, on behalf of the entire City Council, requested a review of utility fee receipts in light of AmerenIP’s huge rate increase. Mr. West, Chairman of the Finance and Administration Committee said, “Mayor, our audit will compare 2006 utility receipts to 2007 receipts, which will include the period of the AmerenIP rate increase." In addition, when the audit is complete, the Council will review the City’s increased cost of providing city services, such as street lights. Based on the audit findings, the Committee will make specific recommendations to the City Council.
As we work through the issue, we are aware that many of our residents are actively seeking ways to conserve energy in their homes.
A great resource for finding ways to save energy in your home is the Home Energy Saver web site (http://hes.lbl.gov). The site is designed to help consumers identify the best ways to save energyin their homes and to find the resources to make the savings happen. The Home Energy Saver web site is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and was the first internet-based tool for calculating energy use in residential buildings.
The Home Energy Saver quickly computes a home’s energy use on-line. Users can estimate how much energy and money can be saved and how much emissions can be reduced by implementing energy-efficient improvements. Heating, cooling, major appliances, lighting as well as miscellaneous energy uses are analyzed using the detailed description of the home that is provided by the user. Users can begin the process by simply entering their zip code, and in turn receive instant initial estimates. By providing more information about the home the user will receive increasingly customized results along with energy-saving upgrade recommendations. The printable results pages provide a list of recommendations that are ranked by payback time.
 In addition to possibly saving you money on your monthly energy bill, certain energy-saving upgrades to your home will also qualify you for a tax credit. A tax credit can provide significant savings as it will reduce the amount of income tax you are required to pay. Unlike a deduction, which reduces the amount of income subject to tax, a tax credit directly reduces the tax itself. More detailed information on this tax credit can be found at www.energystar.gov.
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