DR programme saves $1.2m for ComEd customers

Metering.com 10 OCTOBER 2016

US utility ComEd has helped its customers save $1.2 million on energy bills since the launch of its demand response (DR) programme Peak Time Savings (PTS) in 2015.

The utility firm said it helped its customers reduce their energy bills through the use of smart meters during the 2015 and 2016 months of June through to September.

The smart meters allowed ComEd customers to shift and reduce their energy usage during utility’s peak periods which occur for five different days between 11am and 7pm during the summer months.

Energy efficiency incentives

The PTS rewards ComEd customers with $1 in bill credits for every KWh they save by shifting their usage during the peak periods.

During the 2015 summer alone, the utility’s smart meter-enabled DR programme kickstarted with 50,000 participants resulting in $386,000 savings in energy bills.

This year, the programme enrolled an additional $100,000 participants resulting in $868,000 in savings.

Val Jensen, senior vice president of Customer Operations at ComEd, commented: “Smart meters are at the heart of what we believe will become the electricity network of the future. We will continue to use smart meters and smart grid technology as platforms to explore innovative solutions that give customers safer and more reliable electric service, and more information and control over how they manage their electricity costs.”

ComEd customers and carbon emission reductions

In addition to helping customers save energy and reduce their bills, smart meters are reported to be helping the utility firm reduce its carbon footprint.

According to a study implemented by ComEd in collaboration with the Citizens Utility Board and the Environmental Defense Fund, smart meter adoption has helped the utility reduce its carbon emissions by 18% in five regions within the Chicago area compared to previous three-year averages for those regions.

The carbon emission reduction is a result of the firm eliminating its door-to-door meter reading service using motor vehicles.

The 18% decrease in carbon emissions is equivalent to removing 22 passenger vehicles which would have been driven daily for one year, from the road.

In 2015, the DR programme helped ComEd to limit power generation using fossil fuels as smart meters reduced excessive power demand within the utility’s grid network. [ComEd customers now able to report outages via Twitter]

The news follows ComEd’s installation of some 2.7 million smart meters for its residential and business consumers. The Illinois based utility serving 3.8 million customers across northern Illinois aims to install 4 million smart meters throughout its service territory by the end of 2018.

Image credit: www.familyhandyman.com.