Baltimore Gas and Electric Co.  has achieved significant milestones in its BGE Smart Energy Savers Program, a suite of offerings intended to help customers reduce energy usage and demand in support of EmPOWER Maryland’s goal of a 15 percent per capita reduction in energy consumption by 2015. BGE customers have achieved an overall energy savings of more than 390 million kWh, equivalent to eliminating the carbon dioxide emissions from the electricity use of nearly 34,000 homes, or nearly two times the number of homes in Annapolis, for one year.

Among the many accomplishments of the program to date is the enrollment of more than 300,000 BGE customers in BGE’s PeakRewards program, designed to help ease peak demand for electricity in the mid-Atlantic region.

“Working together with our customers in the areas of energy efficiency, conservation and demand management has had many extremely positive outcomes, including the environmental benefit of reducing peak demand and energy consumption, thereby lessening the need for new power plants. Additionally, our customers enjoy the financial benefits of being smart energy managers, through programs such as PeakRewards where customers receive bill credits of up to $200 per year in the first year of participation,” said Ruth Kiselewich, director, energy efficiency programs, BGE . “Since the inception of BGE’s PeakRewards program, participating customers have helped Maryland reduce peak energy demand by nearly 500 megawatts (MW). This is equivalent to the generation capacity of a small power plant - or enough electricity to power 160,000 homes for one year.”

BGE’s Smart Energy Savers Program has achieved the following milestones:

• 6.3 million compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) sold through BGE’s Lighting Program that instantly discounts CFLs up to $2.50 per bulb at more than 300 participating retailers across BGE’s service territory.
• More than 15,000 Quick Home Energy Check-ups that can provide customers with immediate energy savings of about $50 a year and ideas for taking additional steps to reduce a home or apartment’s energy use.
• Savings averaging $400 per year on energy bills for more than 1,800 customers participating in BGE’s Limited Income Energy Efficiency Program.
• More than 330,000 PeakRewards devices installed in homes throughout BGE’s Central Maryland service area.
• More than 60,000 thermostats and approximately 500 pounds of mercury recycled from old thermostats replaced with BGE’s PeakRewards thermostats.
• Nearly 12,000 refrigerators and/or freezers recycled as part of BGE’s Refrigerator/Freezer Recycling Program.
• Recycled 800,000 linear feet of fluorescent lamps, or the equivalent of more than 150 miles of straight tube fluorescent lamps in 2010 as part of BGE’s Small Business Lighting Solutions Program. Ballast recycling has kept 73 tons of waste out of area landfills.

In addition, this past summer, BGE activated non-emergency cycling events under the BGE PeakRewards program. During the events, the system experienced a load reduction of 443 megawatts during a one-hour period.