As Western North Carolina's energy needs continue to grow, Progress Energy Carolinas is engaging a panel representing numerous perspectives -- from government and industry to renewable energy companies and the environmental community -- to help the company in implementing aggressive energy-efficiency programs and to advise it on plans to meet the region's electricity demands reliably, affordably and in an environmentally sound manner.

"In many ways, we are at a critical energy juncture in Western North Carolina," said Robert Sipes, vice president of Progress Energy's Western Region, headquartered in Asheville. "Our service area is growing; our homes and businesses are more dependent than ever on reliable and affordable electricity. And an increased awareness of global climate issues means that we must look for new and better ways to reduce energy usage and to produce and deliver electricity to meet our state-mandated obligations of providing reliable and affordable service.

"With all these regional, national and global issues coming into play, we believe it is crucial to engage a variety of community representatives to help Progress Energy implement robust energy efficiency designed to meet the unique needs of our Western North Carolina communities. For these programs to be successful, we need to engage all of our customers. This will require a substantial grassroots effort to generate widespread participation to conserve energy."

Progress Energy is implementing a balanced solution to meeting future energy needs in Western North Carolina and across its service area. Such a plan includes three major components: (1) increased energy efficiency, (2) investment in renewables and other emerging energy technologies, and (3) upgrading of existing power plants and construction of new plants when needed.

In addition to the energy-saving programs that have been in place since 1980, the company has initiated a number of new efficiency options to help customers cut their energy use and save money on their power bill. Among the demand-side and supply-side efficiency measures are the following:

• Installation of a new generation of programmable thermostats and water  heater control devices to help regulate on-peak energy use in homes  and businesses. 
• Increased residential HVAC maintenance, as well as duct testing and  repair. 
• Large-scale replacement of incandescent light bulbs with energy-saving  compact fluorescent bulbs. 
• Increased energy education and awareness, including in-home energy  assessments and the use of new digital displays that provide real-time  energy use and cost information for homeowners. 
• Research and investments in new clean fuel-cell technology for home  and business electrical generation.  
•  Infrastructure investments that will upgrade power plants and further  increase the efficiency of transmission and distribution systems.

Meanwhile, the Community Energy Advisory Council will begin meeting in late June (date to be determined) to discuss other avenues for enhancing energy efficiency while assuring reliability.