- Why is Idaho Power paying incentives to some of their customers to use less of its product?
- If I'm not participating in any of Idaho Power's incentive programs, how am I benefiting from my conservation charge payment?
- Doesn't it cost more to restart a light after it's turned off? I heard it's cheaper just to leave them on.
- Doesn't it cost more to restart your cooling system after it's been turned off (or set back) during the middle of the day when the house is empty? I heard it's cheaper just to leave it on.
- Why doesn't Idaho Power offer me an incentive to install double-pane windows?
- What is Idaho Power doing to help customers be more energy efficient? What programs does the company have that I can participate in?
- Why does Idaho Power have a Green Power Program if the company already has renewables in its resource mix?
1. Why is Idaho Power paying incentives to some of their customers to use less of its product? Our available supply of electricity is not unlimited. As customer growth and electric energy use continue to increase, we will need to expand our electric supplies to meet those needs.
New energy generation will cost much more than the electricity we currently produce or purchase. That can ultimately raise the cost of electricity for everyone.
We offer various incentives to our customers to save energy, which allows us to delay building additional generation facilities or making additional electrical supply purchases. That helps keep all of our customers’ rates lower than they otherwise would have been. It costs all of us less to increase our electric supply capacity by offering energy savings programs to our customers than from any other source.
Paying incentives to our customers to use less of our product ultimately helps save energy and money for all of us.
2. If I'm not participating in any of Idaho Power's incentive programs, how am I benefiting from my conservation charge payment? The rates all customers pay are used to pay for both the actual energy that is used, as well as the infrastructure needed to provide that energy.
The purpose of the conservation charge is to provide funds outside of the normal rate structure for programs that enable and encourage customers to use less energy.
Not all customers who pay the conservation charge will participate equally in programs, but each customer still benefits from programs that defer the cost of building new generation or transmission facilities by reducing demand for energy.
3. Doesn't it cost more to restart a light after it's turned off? I heard it's cheaper just to leave them on. It doesn't cost more to restart a light and you won't save money by leaving them on since you pay for the kilowatt-hours used to keep them on. Remember, it is always a good habit to turn lights off when you leave the room. When purchasing new lighting, look for ENERGY STAR®-qualified compact fluorescent lights that use at least 2/3 less energy than standard incandescent bulbs to provide the same amount of light. These lights generate 70 percent less heat and last up to 10 times longer.
4. Doesn't it cost more to restart your cooling system after it's been turned off (or set back) during the middle of the day when the house is empty? I heard it's cheaper just to leave it on. The energy saved by heating and cooling “setbacks” can vary according to the home, the heating/cooling system, the weather, and other circumstances.
However, just as you turn the lights off when you leave a room, it makes sense to turn the cooling system off (or at least set it back) when you leave home. This is especially true when you will be away for eight hours or more.
Many of our customers take advantage of programmable thermostats that can adjust their heating and cooling set-point according to when they are away from home or when they might be sleeping, and then return to its "occupied" setting when they return or awaken.
Just as it costs more to leave a car idling while the driver runs into the grocery store, to leave your lights on when you're gone or to leave the heating or cooling system operating when the house is empty, usually does cost more. If you want to see how it might work for your home, just check your electric meter one day with the air conditioning on all day and another day with it turned off while you're gone. Learn how to read your meter.
5. Why doesn't Idaho Power offer me an incentive to install double-pane windows? All programs we offer go through an extensive analysis to ensure that the costs of the program do not exceed the benefits of the amount of energy that can be saved.
Although installing energy efficient windows is an important energy saving measure that can help reduce energy use in your home, the costs of such a retrofit program would be extensive. We continue to monitor other energy efficiency measures to determine when and if they are cost-effective to pursue, such as maintaining and upgrading heating and cooling systems or sealing duct work.
6. What is Idaho Power doing to help customers be more energy efficient? What programs does the company have that I can participate in? Idaho Power has a variety of programs for all our different customer groups. Click to view a complete rundown of our offerings.
7. Why does Idaho Power have a Green Power Program if the company already has renewables in its resource mix? Everyone receives energy from the renewable resources that are in our portfolio or resource mix, but some customers wish to support additional resources that are environmentally friendly. That’s why Idaho Power offers the Green Power Program for those who voluntarily want to encourage more energy production from renewable, environmentally-friendly resources. These resources are certified by the Bonneville Environmental Foundation.
