ComEd-Discounting 1 Million CFL Bulbs for Residential Customers

ComEd Discounting 1 Million CFL Bulbs for Residential Customers

As part of its CARE (Customers' Affordable Reliable Energy) program, Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd) is offering its residential customers a way to save money and protect the environment by making more than 1 million ENERGY STAR®-rated compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs available this fall for as low as 99 cents each at more than 350 retail outlets across northern Illinois.  ComEd is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation, one of the nation's largest electric utilities with approximately 5.4 million customers. ComEd provides service to approximately 3.8 million customers across Northern Illinois, or 70 percent of the state's population.

Through the ComEd Discount CFL Bulb Program, customers can purchase up to 12 CFL bulbs at a $2 discount each at participating retailers stores through Dec. 31, 2007, or while supplies last.  Last year, ComEd customers exceeded program goals by purchasing more than 1.2 million discounted energy efficient light bulbs in less than six weeks.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, ENERGY STAR®-rated CFLs use up to 75 percent less electricity than equivalent incandescent bulbs, and last up to 10 times longer. Replacing one 60-watt incandescent bulb with a comparable CFL can yield savings of up to $35 over the lifetime of the bulb.

This year alone, ComEd residential customers collectively reduced their overall electric use by about 36 million kilowatt-hours, or the amount of energy needed to annually power about 3,700 average area homes, and saved an estimated $3.5 million on their electric bills, as a result of installing and using CFLs purchased during last year's campaign.

The discount CFL program is the largest privately funded energy efficiency lighting promotion in the Midwest. Additionally, ComEd has launched a partnership with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) and Ace Hardware to launch a pilot CFL recycling program. Under the agreement, about 150 participating local Ace Hardware stores in northern Illinois will accept used CFLs from ComEd customers through Dec. 31, 2007 and properly dispose of them in IEPA-approved recycling facilities.

CARE is an energy education and customer assistance initiative to give ComEd customers tools and information to help them save money on their electric bill.  CARE offers our residential customers a number of different energy efficiency and low-income assistance programs. These programs include:  A new Web site, a free online energy audit, the opportunity to ask questions of the "Energy Doctor" and buy energy efficiency products.

To find out more about the ComEd's CFL discount program and the CARE program, please visit www.ComEdCARE.com

© 2008 Edison Electric Institute