Energy Crunch?

About a year ago I read a quote from a FERC (Federal Energy Regulation Commission) spokesman. He said that CT was headed toward the same energy crunch that California had faced the year before. Remember the stories of their rolling brownouts?

Well, I just read this NH Register article and wanted to mention it. Energy is a real serious issue and it's not just the price of gas at the pump. It's far greater than that. And not that I'm an expert, but I think this article does a pretty good job of shedding some light on this complex issue.

And since I do follow "energy" quite a bit, here are some of my thoughts on what you can do as a consumer to help avert a possible energy crunch:

1) Reduce your electric rate - not really averting anything, but here's a website where you can save money on your home electric bill (I used this company for a while and was perfectly happy with them, but then switched to clean energy). Perhaps you could use Levco (I don't recall if there are other suppliers available) as your supplier, then steer some of your savings to 3) below;

2) Buy clean energy - one way to view energy is in terms of "distribution and generation," and while this clean energy option doesn't directly address distribution, it does increase diversification of generation sources and also helps the environment... but this comes at a premium ($0.011/kWh)

3) Increase your home's energy-efficiency - Buy "Energy Star" products for your home... from refrigerators to light bulbs, there are all sorts of ways for you to save money in the long run. It costs a bit more upfront, but you'll probably save more than those upfront costs, over the life of an Energy Star product. Here's one website where you can buy some Energy Star products. But you can also find energy efficient light bulbs at almost any retailer that sells regular light bulbs.

4) Commuting rideshares - Another way to consider saving both money and energy is this commuter website. It puts people together to find rideshares. And with gas looking like it's headed north of $3/gallon by Memorial Day, I suspect many people are going to be looking for ways to reduce how much gas they use.

5) Improved gas mileage - If you're thinking about buying a new car... consider a Hybrid. I believe the April '06 edition of Consumer Reports has a review of current models... including a favorable view on the Civic hybrid that I should finally be picking up... within a week or so. I was told that (based on costs) Consumer Reports only recommended one other hybrid, the Toyota Prius. But I haven't seen the issue yet.

6) Home energy audit - By finding out where your house is leaking hot or cold air through an energy audit, you can fix the problem areas and save both energy and money. Here's a website that should be able to provide names of some companies that perform energy audits.

7) Invest in solar panels - no, not the water heating solar panels from the 70s, but the new photovoltaic arrays (PVs) of today. (PVs generate electricity.) Here's a program where your state tax dollars are at work... buy some PVs and get money back from the state. Or get your tax dollars back from the federal gov't. According to my calculation, a $15,000 investment for your house may receive back $9,500. And another nice thing is that, if you get a battery, you could have electricity, even during power outages. And here's one more website of possible interest.

Anyway... just some thoughts on what each of us can do as individuals to try to save money and avert a possible energy crunch.

Tim White
Town Council, Liaison to the Energy Commission
TimWhite98@yahoo.com