South Fork Peak Savers, a program designed to reduce peak energy usage in the towns of Southampton and East Hampton, and its partner Rhino LED will send representatives door to door throughout East Hampton Town this month to directly promote the program’s benefits.
Among the energy-saving initiatives that residents can take advantage of are free smart thermostats for PSEG Long Island customers with central air conditioning, and rebates for enrolling smart thermostats to reduce usage at peak hours. Pool owners can get a combined $950 in rebates for Energy Star pool pumps. Commercial customers are eligible for free energy audits, smart thermostats, and LED lighting upgrades.
The representatives, who will be wearing uniforms, will begin knocking on doors in Montauk and work their way west.
PSEG Long Island contracted with the energy consulting company Applied Energy Group to organize South Fork Peak Savers, working toward a goal of providing 8.3 megawatts of load control and energy efficiency measures.
Energy consumption on the South Fork is increasing at twice the rate of the rest of Long Island, according to a release from East Hampton Town. As the usage of air conditioning, pool pumps, and electronic devices increases, the peak load in July and August puts a strain on the infrastructure, resulting in a need for utilities to build more transmission lines and power generating facilities, the release states.
Information on South Fork Peak Savers and other programs is available through the Town of East Hampton’s Energize East Hampton website at energizeeh.org.