Customers Can Make This Summer a Season of Savings

As another hot summer season begins, Rockland Electric Company reminds customers they can take advantage of energy savings opportunities in their homes and businesses to cushion against rising costs.

The company offers robust energy efficiency programs to help customers stay comfortable and save energy. In addition, Rockland Electric Company offers tips on where customers can look in their homes and businesses to find energy savings.

“Every home and business has the potential to reduce its energy usage,” said Charmaine Cigliano, Rockland Electric Company’s director of Energy Efficiency Programs. “We want to help our customers identify those opportunities, so that they can save money and lower their carbon footprint. Our customers are great partners in our efforts to reduce the amount of energy it takes to power our service area in New Jersey.”

Using energy wisely is more important at a time when energy costs are rising across the United States. Customers who conserve during the summer help Rockland Electric Company keep its service reliable for everyone.

Rockland Electric Company customers can stay cool and save all summer by following these money-saving conservation tips:

• Set your air conditioner to the highest comfortable temperature. Every degree you lower the thermostat increases costs.
• Close off rooms that are unoccupied while your AC is running. If you’re in the living room with the AC, close off the other rooms.
• If you run a business, keep your door closed while the AC is running.
• To reduce heat and moisture in your home, run appliances such as ovens, washing machines, dryers and dishwashers in the early morning or late at night when it’s cooler outside.
• When the AC is running, close doors to keep cool air in and hot air out.
• Keep shades, blinds and curtains closed. About 40 percent of unwanted heat comes through windows.
• Even when using AC, use ceiling and other fans to provide additional cooling and better circulation.
• Turn off ACs, lights and other appliances when not at home and use a timer to turn on your AC about a half-hour before arriving home.
• Keep AC filters clean.

For this summer, Rockland Electric Company is offering residential and small business customers discounts for buying an eligible smart thermostat and $85 for registering it with RECO's Bring Your Own Thermostat (BYOT) Program. Replacing an old air conditioner with a new efficient heat pump can make your home more comfortable and more efficient, while helping you save on your energy bill year-round.

Rockland Electric Company is offering incentives for commercial and industrial customers. They include rebates and incentives for making your business more energy efficient, including high efficiency lighting, HVAC upgrades, and custom designed projects.

Small and medium-size businesses can get a free, no-obligation energy assessment of their facility. Rockland Electric Company will pay up to 80 percent of the cost for qualified energy saving measures and customers can take advantage of our zero percent financing offer.

Customers can follow Rockland Electric Company on Twitter or Facebook for general outage updates, safety tips and storm preparation information.

About Rockland Electric Company

Rockland Electric Company is a regulated electric utility that serves 73,000 customers in parts of Bergen, Passaic, and Sussex County in New Jersey. Rockland Electric is a wholly owned subsidiary of Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc., which in turn is owned by Consolidated Edison, Inc.