Save Money on Your Electric Bill with the BGE Peak Rewards Program

If you're like me and a lot of other people, you've been taking a serious look at your monthly bills lately to see if there are any unnecessary expenses that can be trimmed. One of the biggest bills in any family's budget is the electric bill, and there are common sense things you can do to lower your monthly utility bill like turning down your thermostat and making sure rooms are only lit when they need to be. For many consumers, these are pretty much the only steps that can be taken to save money on the electric bill. For Baltimore Gas & Electric (BGE) customers, however, even more money can be saved on the electric bill with the BGE Peak Rewards program.

The BGE Peak Rewards program offers consumers credits on their electric bill in exchange for allowing the ultility to adjust the temperature in their homes during periods of high electricity demand. Here's how BGE Peak Rewards works: interested consumers call BGE to let the electric company know they are interested in participating in the program. BGE will schedule an appointment for a technician to visit your home and install either a programmable thermostat inside or a "smart switch" on your air conditioner unit outside your home. Once you have had either the thermostat or smart switch installed, you are officially a member of the BGE Peak Rewards program. During periods of high electricity demand (typically between June and September), BGE may "cycle" your air conditioner compressor, making it run less than it normally would. Consumers can choose a 25, 50, or 75 percent cycling level, with the financial incentives being greater for larger cycling levels. A cycling event typically lasts 8 hours or less, and when BGE is cycling your air conditioner, you will probably only notice the temperature in your house increase by a few degrees at most.

In exchange for allowing them to cycle your air conditioner, BGE will credit your bill between $7.50 and $18.75 for the months of June, July, August, and September. Remember, the more you allow BGE to cycle your air conditioner, the bigger your bill credit will be. During the first year you participate in the BGE Peak Rewards program, the utility will actually double the amount of billing credits you get for all four months of summer. This can mean a savings of almost half of your electric bill, depending on the size of your house. So, if you've been trying to figure out a way to reduce your BGE bill, visit the website listed in the resources section of this article and find out more about Peak Rewards.