Considering an electric space heater for home use? A caution about portable space heaters, which can be costly to operate Using a portable electric space heater can be one of the most expensive ways to heat your home. º º At today s prices, electric heat costs at least twice as much per BTU as natural gas. In order to achieve any meaningful savings with a space heater, you would need to use it to heat just the room you re occupying and turn down the thermostat to the rest of the house so the furnace doesn t run. º º This practice may be impractical or even unsafe to do. Beware of claims too good to be true Customers have called MGE about advertising they ve seen for a portable space heater that can cut your heating bill by up to 50% or a miracle fireplace that uses less energy than a coffee maker, yet produces an amazing 5,119 BTUs! These products sell for around $300 yet are no more efficient and produce no more heat than a $30 space heater from your local hardware store. We strongly suggest that you first check out any such heater through an independent testing agency or leading consumer magazine. Several reviews and reports have been published. Energy-saving ideas at the March 2011 Home Products Show Energy-saving ideas, products and exhibits for your home will be on display from Mar. 4 6, 2011, at one of the area s long-time leading shows for home products and energy ideas. Since 1981, this three-day event has been an educational and informational showcase of new products, services and trends related to home building and remodeling. Two hundred exhibitors will be at the annual show being held at the Alliant Center Exhibition Hall. MGE will have energy experts and displays at its exhibit. Free on-site seminars. Attend any of 60 seminars designed to help you learn more about your project before you start. Three days. The 2011 show will be held during the following hours: º º 2 to 7 p.m. on Friday, March 4, º º 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 5, º º 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, March 6. Admission is free; you only pay for parking. For more information, visit maba.org. Madison Gas and Electric Co. www.mge.com/mgesource mge>source Warm ideas to cool your pocketbook this season Easy ways to make your home and energy bills more comfortable º º Be sure your furnace is properly maintained for its most efficient, reliable heating service. º º Ensure efficient furnace air flow. Be sure your furnace air ducts are tight, particularly those that pass through unheated areas. Have them tested for air leakage and seal and/or insulate them as needed. Check your furnace filter monthly and replace as needed. º º Keep registers and cold-air returns clear of obstruction. Don t let furniture or drapes get in their way. º º Turn down your thermostat to 55 F when you are asleep or not at home, unless special circumstances in your home dictate otherwise. For every 1 degree you lower the thermostat for 8 hours, you can save 1% on your heating bill. (Continues inside) Madison Gas and Electric Company Jan.-Feb. 2011
Jan.-Feb. 2011 Energy saving, comfort tips (cont.) Installing a program mable thermostat helps you preset your temperatures as needed throughout the day. This makes lower settings at night or when you re away easy to set and repeat. Wear a sweater during the day and throw on an extra blanket at night keep comfortable without needing a higher thermostat setting. º º Have a fireplace? Close the damper to stop drafts after extinguishing the fireplace. º º Consult MGE s and Focus on Energy s experts. They are experienced and knowledgeable on energy issues. From conservation tips to winterization options, call MGE s experts at (608) 252-7117. Or by e-mail at askexperts@ mge.com. You can reach Focus on Energy s experts at 1-800-762-7077 or online at askfocusonenergy.com. º º Take advantage of online energy resources. MGE s Web site (mge.com) and Focus on Energy s site (focusonenergy.com) are filled with up-to-date energy-related information. Find what you need using convenient category and subject links at both sites. º º Look for the ENERGY STAR label when you replace major home products. The ENERGY STAR label helps you find energy-wise products and equipment. ENERGY STAR-labeled products use less energy, save money and help protect the environment. For example: Changing the lights in high-use areas to ENERGY STAR-labeled products can cut your lighting costs up to 75%. Check out focusonenergy.com for special offers and other ways to save. Para información, llame a MGE a (608) 252 7120. Customer choice and convenience for how and where you pay your bill We offer a number of billing and payment options to add convenience to paying your energy bill. º º Pay online. View and pay your MGE energy bill online. MGE has selected CheckFree, the Web s largest and most secure processor, to provide this service. Sign up to view or pay your MGE bill now. This service is free, easy and secure. Customers who pay online help eliminate paper bills. Saves time and energy, too. º º Automatic payment via Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). Pay your MGE energy bill automatically on the date it is due from your checking or savings account with EFT. º º Check payment. When you pay your MGE bill by check, you authorize us to process your check payment from your checking account electronically. This will shorten the time it takes to process your payment. Funds may be withdrawn from your checking account on the same day we receive your check. Comfort and savings for this season and beyond» Looking to save energy while controlling home comfort? MGE s Set Back Your Thermostat fact sheet lays out straight-forward tips.» Our Appliance Energy Costs brochure can help you see which appliances have the least and most impact on your energy use. To obtain a free copy of either, complete the form below and include with your bill payment. Or download them at mge.com/brochures. Name: Address: City: State: ZIP: Phone: º º Pay in person. You also may drop off your payment in person at our main office, just off Blair Street at 623 Railroad St. in downtown Madison, or at any of our branch offices. Several grocery and other retail locations also handle MGE payments for a $1 processing fee per transaction. For more on payment locations near you, visit www.mge.com/paystations or call us at (608) 252-7222. º º Pay by phone. Call 1-800-526-5995; pay using: Electronic check for a handling fee of $5.95. Credit card (maximum $600 payment per transaction) for a handling fee of $5.95. º º Pay by mail. For your convenience, we provide a return-payment envelope with your bill. If you have misplaced your bill payment envelope, please send your payment and bill stub to: Madison Gas and Electric Co. P.O. Box 1231 Madison, WI 53701-1231 Printed on recycled paper. Check which you want to receive: Set Back Your Thermostat Appliance Energy Costs
Annual Statement of the Low Income Public Benefits Programs Your electric bill includes a monthly fee for the Public Benefits Fund, which was established to help reduce energy use in Wisconsin. This fee appears on your electric bill as a lowincome assistance fee. During the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2010, Madison Gas and Electric provided a total of $4,854,423 from residential and nonresidential customers in support of the Public Benefits programs. Home Energy Plus Programs helped families and individuals with limited incomes throughout the state of Wisconsin. Managed by the Department of Administration, the programs were delivered to eligible households through county human and social services agencies, community action agencies, tribal governments and other nonprofit organizations. The ultimate goal of all low-income energy programs was to make the households energy self-sufficient; that is, to provide services that help households meet their energy costs on an ongoing basis without sacrificing other necessities. Assistance with electric bills Electric assistance is a one-time annual payment intended to pay a portion of a household s electric costs. The amount of the benefit is dependent on the household income, size of the household and electric costs incurred by the household. Crisis assistance Crisis assistance was available to eligible state residents who were subject to a disconnection of their utility service or who were nearly out of heating fuel and did not have any way to pay for the fuel or fuel bill. Crisis (continued on reverse)
assistance provided both emergency services and proactive services. Emergency services helped during the heating season (October 1 through May 15) by purchasing heating fuel for a household, making payments toward an electric bill, providing a warm place for a customer to stay for a few days, providing furnace repair/replacement or taking other actions that helped in a heating emergency. Weatherization services Weatherization services helped reduce home energy costs by reducing home energy consumption. This made homes more comfortable warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer. The reduction in consumption reduced the customer costs and also reduced overall consumption, which benefited all customers. Common weatherization services included attic and side-wall insulation, reducing air leakage into and out of the home, heating system repair or replacement, refrigerator and freezer replacement, energy-efficient lightbulbs and water-saving measures. Low-income supplemental fee The State of Wisconsin biennial budget for 2009-11 (2009 Wisconsin Act 28) required the annual collection of a low-income supplemental fee. This supplemental fee is scheduled to sunset effective June 30, 2011. Are you eligible for energy assistance? For more information on eligibility and how to apply for the Home Energy Plus Programs, please contact 1-866-432-8947 (1-866-HEATWIS) or visit the Home Energy Plus Web site at www.homeenergyplus.wi.gov. GS1275 11/03/2010
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summary billing also reduces costs and the need to cut down trees Businesses signing up for Summary Billing are cutting out a lot of the time and energy previously expended in paying their bills. And because Summary Billing makes serious paper cuts, the environment comes out ahead, too. To learn more about how you are cut out for Summary Billing, go to mge.com/summarybilling. GS1552 10/26/2009