CHARLESTON, W. Va., April 20, 2011 – Appalachian Power is launching a series of energy efficiency incentive and rebate programs to help West Virginia residential and business customers offset rising electricity costs and become better consumers of energy.

Tammy Stafford, demand side management /energy efficiency (DSM/EE) coordinator, said the company has rolled out four programs, three for residential customers and one for commercial and industrial customers.  “Our goal is to help customers reduce their energy costs and improve our environment at the same time,” Stafford said.
Programs include:

·         The SMART Lighting Program offers customers the opportunity to buy compact-fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs at reduced prices. The program also offers discounts on other forms of smart lighting. Customers who purchase CFL bulbs at Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Lowe’s or Sam’s Club will receive an instant discount off the purchase price, while customers of True Value, Do It Best, and ACE Hardware complete information on a coupon to receive an immediate discount. Appalachian residential customers have until December 31, 2012, to take advantage of the SMART Lighting Program. See AppalachianPower.com for complete details.

·         The Low Income Weatherization Program provides weatherization products and services to residential customers to help reduce energy bills and improve the comfort of homes. The Company provides funding for this program to the State of West Virginia to help supplement the state and federal income qualified weatherization programs, and the program is managed by the West Virginia Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity. For information and eligibility guidelines, customers should visit www.goeo.wv.gov or call 211.

·         The Home Energy Audit/Retrofit Program helps identify areas in a home that may be wasting valuable energy by providing a free in-home energy audit. An energy specialist conducts a home examination, generates a custom audit report and with the customer’s permission installs simple, low-cost energy efficiency improvements. The program is available to all owner-occupied, single-family residential detached home customers, including mobile homes and duplexes, or single-family non-owner occupied residential detached homes where the electrical service is in the occupant’s name and with written consent of the owner. Townhomes, condominiums, apartments and commercial customers are not eligible. For more information on qualifications, call 1-888-446-7719.

·         For commercial and industrial customers, the Prescriptive Program is designed to generate energy savings for all commercial and industrial customers through the use of high efficiency lighting, HVAC and motors. Call 1-888-446-7719 for more information.

Appalachian Power has almost 1 million customers in Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee (as AEP Appalachian Power). It is a unit of American Electric Power, one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, which delivers electricity to more than 5 million customers in 11 states. AEP ranks among the nation’s largest generators of electricity, owning nearly 38,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the U.S. AEP also owns the nation’s largest electricity transmission system, a nearly 39,000-mile network that includes more 765 kilovolt extra-high voltage transmission lines than all other U.S. transmission systems combined. 
 
                                             ###