VEC Among Energy Efficiency Leaders in 2013
The Tennessee Valley Authority recently released its Energy Efficiency and Demand Reduction summary report for 2013 and once again Volunteer Energy Cooperative is among the leaders in promoting energy efficiency in the Tennessee Valley region.
Patty Hurley, VEC’s vice president of Marketing and Economic Development said the report underscores VEC’s commitment to low-cost power and environmental stewardship.
“The recognition of our efforts to reduce energy consumption is nice, but the real reward is seeing those efforts translated into lower electric bills for our members,” Hurley said. “Most companies put a lot of money and effort into advertising in order to get people to use more of their product. We put our efforts into helping our members use our product more efficiently.”
VEC’s efforts in 2013 resulted in a total energy savings of seven gigawatt-hours (or 7,000,000,000 watt-hours) and more than $1 million in savings for VEC members.
The savings were spread among VEC’s residential, business, and industrial customers.
Across the entire region TVA’s 155 distributors and 57 direct-serve customers saved 521 gigawatt-hours through energy efficiency and demand reduction programs.
VEC’s residential programs include VEC’s free In-Home Energy Evaluation program, VEC’s heat pump financing program, the Green Power/Generation Partners program, a water heater rebate program, and a new home incentive program.
VEC’s EnergyRight Solutions for Business and EnergyRight Solutions for Industry programs save 844,216 kilowatt hours and 478,318 kilowatt hours respectively.
VEC ranked first in the region for assisting members install energy-efficient heat pumps in mobile homes.
VEC ranked sixth in the Tennessee Valley with 634,664 kilowatt hours saved through their heat pump financing program.
Under the In-Home Energy Evaluation Program VEC conducted 556 free inspections for members in 2013 and 75% of those resulted in customers receiving rebates for making recommended improvements. Another 297 VEC members opted for the do-it-yourself energy audit program in 2013.
A total of 43 VEC members participated in the Green Power Providers/Generation Partners program and received incentives to produce their own renewable, solar energy. VEC members have the capacity to produce 607 kilowatt-hours.
VEC President/CEO Rody Blevins said he is pleased to see VEC among the leaders in the region in promoting energy efficiency.
“Every watt-hour of electricity that is saved represents a watt-hour that does not have to be generated,” Blevins said. “That provides real savings for our customers and a cleaner environment for everyone.”
For a complete list of activities sorted by power company visit
http://www.energyright.com/pdf/highlights_report_appendix2013.pdf
VEC is an equal opportunity provider and employer.