PECO
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Partner of the Year - Sustained Excellence
Energy Efficiency Program Delivery
PECO is an electric and natural gas utility subsidiary of Exelon Corporation and is the state’s largest utility, serving 1.6 million electric and 508,000 natural gas customers in southeastern Pennsylvania. PECO began promoting ENERGY STAR® products in 2009 and launched its residential new construction program in 2014. PECO’s programs heavily leverage ENERGY STAR, both in the products offered and with the educational information presented on energy efficiency. PECO is receiving ENERGY STAR recognition for its commitment to promoting ENERGY STAR certified products and certified homes. Key 2015 accomplishments include:
- Leveraging ENERGY STAR to encourage the purchase, installation and retrofit of ENERGY STAR products in its certified lighting, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), and appliances programs, as well as other initiatives such as student education and low income programs, all of which fall under its “PECO Smart Ideas” Portfolio of programs. The lighting program alone has helped drive the sale of an estimated almost 970,000 ENERGY STAR certified compact fluorescent lights (CFL) and more than 1.5 million ENERGY STAR certified light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs in 2015, through upstream incentives, retail sales and giveaways. PECO also spread the word about the benefits of ENERGY STAR lighting, appliances, HVAC, and water heating equipment through approximately 700 consumer and retail outreach events, and partnerships with more than 400 retailers and 1,500 contractors.
- Cross-promoting incentives on the purchase of new ENERGY STAR certified refrigerators and recycling incentives to encourage customers to have their old refrigerator recycled instead of keeping it as a second fridge. Between March and June of 2015, PECO highlighted ENERGY STAR’S Flip Your Fridge promotion with bill inserts, direct mail, and social media. Through October 2015, PECO provided recycling rebates for more than 13,000 older refrigerators and freezers, an increase of more than 30 percent over 2014.
- Providing incentives for more than 300 new homes and enrolling 10 builders in the Smart Builder Rebates program.
- Increasing outreach to home builders, Home Energy Raters, and prospective homebuyers by promoting the benefits of homes built to ENERGY STAR v3.0 requirements through email, direct mail, and presentations at seminars and industry meetings.
- Saving PECO customers more than 270,000 megawatt hours annually from programs directly linked to ENERGY STAR.