Utilities call on consumers to save energy

Consumer electronics, big houses lead to record demand. What your power company and you can do to help conserve.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — With the hot summer approaching and ever more air conditioners and other consumer electronic devices straining the nation’s already burdened power system, utilities are scrambling to get customers to use less.

“Eighty one percent of customers think they are in on energy efficiency,” Bill Brier, head of policy and public affairs at the industry association Edison Electric Institute, said at a recent press event. “But lighting is only 5 percent of the load.”


Brier said devices that raise or lower heat in the home – such as air conditioners, heaters, refrigerators and dryers – gobble up the most power. He said an air conditioner, for instance, can account for up to two thirds of an electric bill.

Demand for electricity is also soaring and is now at an all-time high. All the new consumer electronics – laptops, iPods, cell phones, flat screen TVs – combined with bigger homes are expected to cause a 40 percent jump in U.S. electricity demand by 2030.

CNN