Community Partnership Report - Energy Conservation
- TEP Guarantee Home Program
- Energy Advisor
- Energy Efficiency for Low-Income Customers
- Energy Star Lighting
- Efficient Home Cooling
Our customers now have more choices than ever before to help them reduce their monthly electric bills - and their impact on the environment.
TEP’s energy efficiency programs have paid significant dividends for customers and the environment. From 1992 through 2008, our efforts saved more than 1.4 million megawatt hours – enough energy to power approximately 127,000 Tucson homes for a year.
Over their lifetime, the energy efficiency programs enacted in 2008 will prevent the production of more than 250 tons (562,000 pounds) of sulfur dioxide, more than 400 tons of nitrogen oxides and more than 200,000 tons (450 million pounds) of carbon dioxide, which are produced through fossil fuel-based power generation.
Guarantee Home Program
TEP has been a market leader in encouraging energy-efficient building through our TEP Guarantee Home program. More than 16,500 homes built or contracted to be built in TEP’s service territory over the past 10 years carry the TEP Guarantee. During the last three years, more than half of the residential building permits issued in our service territory have been built as part of the program.
The Guarantee Home program holds builders to strict energy efficiency standards. Each home is inspected by TEP at least three times during construction to ensure those standards are being met. For home buyers, the program provides a special low electric rate and a five-year Heating/Cooling and Comfort Guarantee.
For our customers, the program provides peace of mind that their new home carries TEP’s Guarantee of health, safety, comfort, durability and energy efficiency. For TEP, the reduced electric use associated with energy-efficient Guarantee Homes reduces our need to build additional generating assets.
In 2007, the TEP Guarantee Home program received an honorable mention in the 2nd National Review of Exemplary Energy Efficient Programs conducted by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.
Energy Advisor
The TEP Energy Advisor is an online tool designed to help you understand and manage your electric use and control your energy costs. If you take a few minutes to input specific details about your home or office, the Energy Advisor will provide customized advice about just how much money you could save by making certain improvements, like upgrading windows or installing a more efficient air conditioning unit. More than 140 energy saving strategies are available. You can use the Energy Advisor to analyze an entire home or business or to calculate the energy cost of a major appliance or a specific piece of equipment. In 2008, more than 3,400 residential and more than 100 commercial customers completed an online energy audit.
Energy Efficiency for Low-Income Customers
Since 1993, TEP has been helping low-income residents reduce their energy bills through the installation of new, energy efficient windows, upgraded insulation and other home improvements.
TEP works with the Pima County Community Services and the Tucson Urban League to provide these upgrades for needy residents. In 2008, 61 local families received more than $100,000 worth of home improvements through the program. In 2008, TEP received approval from the Arizona Corporation Commission to increase the program's funding to approximately $381,000. The ACC also approved increasing the amount of funding an individual household can receive to $3,000, a $1,000 increase.
An attic crawl space before the application of high quality insulation.
The same crawl space after the application of high quality insulation.
ENERGY STAR® Lighting
Saving energy is now as easy as replacing a light bulb. Both residential and commercial customers can take advantage of the new ENERGY STAR® Lighting program, which makes energy-efficient compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) available at a discount of up to 50 percent at participating stores.
More than 395,000 CFLs were sold in the last six months of 2008, exceeding our expectations for launch of the program.
To see a list of participating retailers, click here.
Efficient Home Cooling
Customers can now receive rebates for installation of high-efficiency air conditioning and heat pump systems. In 2008, TEP paid rebates to more than 170 customers who had installed energy-efficient systems. More than 50 local contractors have signed on to participate in the program.
