In case you didn't know yet, the price of electricity in Pennsylvania has been controlled since 1996 when rate caps were put in place as a compromise with the regional utilities, who owned the state's power plants after deregulation tried unsuccessfully to stimulate competition in the 1990s. Since 1997 Pennsylvania's utility bills have risen an average of 5%, compared to 24-34% in regulated states.
All that will end with the expiration of the rate caps in 2010, according to an article by Marc Levy of the Associated Press that was reprinted in area newspapers this past weekend. PPL, which is the local utility for Lancaster County electric power, has already warned that rates will jump an expected 30% when the caps come off. I don't know about you but that's pretty significant. Think about this - if you do nothing and pay $1,000 per year right now, you will be paying $1,300 come 2010. However, you can take the $300 per year and put it into an upgrade to an energy-efficient appliance worth $900 (3 years at $300) and cut back the potential increase through savings right now. How about a tankless hot water heater? A 95% efficient furnace? Perhaps a solar backup system? Maybe you need to go through the house to find air leakages that are costing you heating & cooling dollars?
No matter what, the rate increases are coming to Lancaster County. Now's the time to think about your energy-use future and take steps to cut down your usage today through planning and upgrades. For more ideas go to my green resources page.
For Lancaster PA homes for sale click here. Jeff Geoghan is a top real estate expert in Lancaster County, PA, and an involved community member. Jeff's work has been featured in the Lancaster Newspapers, PA Business Journal and Wall Street Journal. Jeff's blog on Lancaster County and its homes is nationally-featured. Contact Jeff for more help with your Lancaster PA Real Estate needs
Why do we let the gov. keep putting us in this position of controlling things that should be market driven. We will be in the same boat has they try to control heath care. Let the market take care of these things
Rick,
There are incentive programs offered by the federal government, the state, and utility companies that offer grants, loan guarantees, and rebates. The IRS also offers tax credits, tax deductions and accelerated depreciation. But the average person doesn't know about them.
The best part is that in many cases, by combining these programs, it is often possible to integrate energy saving options at $0 net cost, as loan payments end up being less than what you were already spending on the energy.
That's why I started http://SuperSolarSolutions.Net. My goal is to help consumers become Energy Independent. We offer many products like solar water heaters and solar energy systems, but also products you may not have heard of, like the SunPipe tubular skylight, which brings natural daylight into homes, offices, day-care and health care facilities, factories, barns, etc. Some of the benefits of natural lighting include better health, improved learning, increased productivity and increased sales.
PA homeowners can also take advantage of http://KeystoneHelp.com, a program that provides loans of up to $10,000, unsecured by their home equity, to make energy efficient improvements. Even new homeowners with no equity can take advantage of this. Low income households qualify for a reduced interest rate. Sen. Casey announced at a Global Warming conference in Pittsburgh sponsored by http://PennFuture.Org that he hopes to use this as a model for a nationwide program.
An overview of programs available to PA residents is at http://SuperSolarSolutions.Net/PA.
If anyone wants more information on programs or products, feel free to contact me.
Sher Simcisko
Sher@SuperSolarSolutions.Net
SuperSolarSolutions.Net
814-753-4297