September 26
SMUD Helps Residential Customers Reach Electrification Milestone
Top consumer smart energy news hand-selected and brought to you by the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative.
Member News
SMUD and its customers have achieved a major clean energy milestone for the Sacramento region. Through SMUD’s Advanced Home Solutions program, more than 20,000 gas-fired space and water heating systems have been replaced with high-efficiency electric heat pumps. Households that have made the switch are saving an average of $500 per year on utility bills.
Minnesota Power, a utility company based in Duluth, Minnesota, is adding 16 new fast-charging stations within its service territory for electric vehicles (EVs). The first of its new charging stations was unveiled this week at the Miller Hill Super One Foods in Duluth. It is one of four planned for Duluth. The company also plans to install and operate fast chargers along travel corridors in rural and more densely populated areas in northeastern Minnesota.
When it comes to their electricity providers, Gen Z is significantly less likely to find them trustworthy, reliable and satisfactory compared to Millennials, Gen X and Baby Boomers, according to a new paper from the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative (SECC). On a 10-point scale, Gen Z rated their providers 7.0 on trust and 7.2 on satisfaction, lower than Millennials/Gen X at 7.2 and 7.3 and considerably below Boomers at 7.5 for both metrics.
BrightRidge and the Tennessee Valley Authority have marked the fifth anniversary of their Home Uplift partnership, a program that has brought home energy enhancements to hundreds of lower-income BrightRidge homeowners. To date, BrightRidge and TVA have invested $3.86 million in the BrightRidge Electric service area and Uplifted 330 homes at no cost to the homeowner.
Get Your Weekly Edition
Industry News
Solar generated more power than it ever has before on Texas’ grid earlier this month. That’s impressive, but even more so when you consider that it was the 17th record the power source set in the state this year, according to a new report. The record setting started bright and early on January 24, when solar generated 22.1 GW of power.
Home heating costs in the United States are expected to rise faster than inflation this winter, leaving millions of families at risk of falling into utility debt and facing power shut-offs if they cannot pay their bills, says a new report from the National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA) that suggests how utilities and Congress could help stem the crisis. This winter, prices for home heating on average could increase by about 7.6 percent to $976.
Investments in residential heat pumps, batteries and solar arrays could meet 100 percent of projected electricity demand growth from AI data centers through 2029, according to a report from the pro-electrification nonprofit Rewiring America. “Hyperscalers are already thinking creatively about how to meet their growing power needs, and this report presents a solution that brings households into the conversation,” Rewiring America CEO Ari Matusiak said.
Small solar-panel kits that can be assembled as easily as an Ikea bookcase and plugged into a regular residential outlet could be coming soon to New Hampshire and Vermont. Lawmakers and advocates in both states are preparing legislation that would make these plug-in solar systems accessible to residents who don’t have the space, money or inclination to install a larger, conventional rooftop array.
