City Looks To Help Residents Save Money, Conserve Energy

With temperatures hovering in the 90’s this week, Diamond Bar officials are advising resident to take a good look at Southern California Edison Summer Readiness Program.

The program is available to both residents and businesses and consists of a variety of energy use tracking tools, rebates, bill credits and rate discounts.

“Since periods of extreme hot weather put significant strain on the electric grids due to the increase in energy demand for cooling, (Edison) has implemented a program aimed at stretching energy resources during the summer months,” city officials wrote in a news release.

Among the programs being offered is an online Energy Audit & Advisor, a free tool that allows participants to get an analysis of energy use along with customized recommendations for how to save and where to start.

Officials point out the many saving possibilities and rebates. Property owners can get back up to $200 for installing a variable-speed pool pump and motor, and $300 for installing an evaporative cooler.

SCE customers can also earn up to $100 annually in bill credits by reducing their electricity use between 2 and 6 p.m. during SCE pre-planned Save Power Days. The Summer Discount Plan involves the installation a cycling device on a customer’s central air conditioner. The customer receives a credit on his/her summer season electric bills in exchange for permitting SCE to remotely turn off the air conditioner periodically.

More details about these and other programs are available at www.sce.com/SummerSave.

SCE asks that residents to reduce energy consumption during peak hours of 12 to 6 p.m. by following a few easy tips:

• Set thermostats to 78 degrees or higher
• Use electric fans instead of A/C when practical
• Turn off unused appliances and equipment
• Shut off lights when leaving a room
• Avoid evaporative coolers or humidifiers when A/C is running
• Operate energy-intensive appliances during early morning or evening hours
• Limit how often you open the refrigerator door
• Set the pool filtration system time clocks to run the pool pumps outside of the on-peak hours