BGE’s thermostats prove popular
DANIELLE ULMAN
Daily Record Business Writer
May 5, 2009 8:12 PM
Baltimore Gas & Electric Co. customers looking to join the company’s energy saving program could find themselves waiting until July for a new programmable thermostat.
The popularity of BGE’s PeakRewards program has slowed down installation of the company’s devices, which will save participating customers money by allowing BGE to temporarily cut down their use of air conditioning during times of high energy demand over the summer.
BGE has signed up 77,000 customers for the program, but 11,000 are still without a programmable thermostat or a smart switch, a box mounted near an air conditioning unit that receives radio signals from the company, said Ruth Kiselewich, director of demand side management programs at BGE.
Those who request the thermostats generally have a longer waiting period because they require entry into the home, while the smart switches are placed outside the home. Customers who want switches installed during the middle of the week get the fastest appointments, she said.
“On average it’s taking us between four and six weeks to schedule customers, which is not unusual when you think about getting work done in a house,” Kiselewich said. “If a customer wants an appointment on a Saturday, some are being scheduled out through July.”
But even those with the smart switches have been left hanging for weeks at a time. Dave Sandler, a Reisterstown resident and the traffic reporter known as “Detour Dave” on WBAL Radio and 98 Rock, said when he signed up for the program the company told him they would come out to install the switch within days, but it actually took weeks.
“I was kind of surprised that there was a delay,” he said. “They said they would be out two days later, and it was more than a month.”
Customers who get their installations completed before the program’s rebates start in June seem not to mind the delay.
“I didn’t really care,” Sandler said. “I just thought maybe they forgot about me.”
All customers who sign up for the program receive a signing bonus of up to $100 and a monthly credit of up to $25 from June through September. Both credits vary depending on the level of “cycling” the customer allows.
Customers can choose to let BGE cut off cycling, or air flow, to their homes for 100 percent, 75 percent or 50 percent of an hour during high demand periods to avoid using more power than the company has in supply. BGE can also reduce cycling when the cost of wholesale electricity is very high, and all customers would have air flow cut down to 50 percent of the hour.
Even those customers who do not get their thermostats or switches installed until the middle of the summer will still get their full signing bonuses, Kiselewich said.
The thermostats are more attractive to customers because they offer added opportunities for savings. BGE estimates that customers who use programmable thermostats compared to regular thermostats save about 15 percent off their energy bills each year.
On average, BGE is putting in about five thermostats a day per installer, and the company has about 100 installers.
Rebecca Miers, who works for the Peter & John Ministries, a nonprofit Christian evangelical organization in Arbutus, said in an e-mail that she signed up for the program online and communication with BGE was lacking. It took nearly a month for the installation of the thermostat in her Baltimore County home, although the company said it would happen sooner.
“I am glad it was able to work out before the credits would be applied to our bill,” she said. “One thing that probably made it more challenging: They did not leave phone messages when they called. I only knew this because they told my husband that after he attempted calling them several times.”
The company is working on keeping up with customer demand for the programmable thermostats, Kiselewich said.
“We are adding contractors, we’re increasing overtime, we’re adding subcontractors,” she said. “We’re adding appointments on Sundays. It’s important that a customer has the opportunity to get the equipment.”
