The City is celebrating Public Power Week, October 1-7, along with the American Public Power Association and more than 2,000 other community-owned, not-for-profit electric utilities that collectively provide electricity to 49 million Americans. Public Power Week is an annual national observance coordinated by the American Public Power Association. This year, we are focusing on how public power utilities are working to ensure reliable, affordable, sustainable, and customer-focused service to our community.
To mark Public Power Week, Hudson Public Power offers a few tips on how to save energy and money in your home as we build for the future:
- According to the Alliance to Save Energy, the average U.S. home uses 70 light bulbs. Even though modern bulbs are energy efficient, you should still turn them off when they aren’t in use.
- Swap out old incandescent bulbs for new LED bulbs. According to the Department of Energy, residential LEDs -- especially ENERGY STAR-rated products -- use at least 75% less energy, and last up to 25 times longer, than incandescent lighting.
- Heating and cooling your home uses a lot of energy. Setting your thermostat lower in the winter and higher in the summer to save energy and money on your power bill.
- Unplug appliances when you aren’t using them. Even when they aren’t being used, they are sometimes drawing “phantom power,” which wastes energy.
- Your home’s water heater is a big energy user. Make sure to use cold water when you can and turn off the hot water while you are scrubbing your hands.
- Consider asking your utility about a home energy audit. Energy efficiency experts can use special equipment to find things around your home—like air leaks—that may be costing you energy and money.
Hudson Public Power (HPP) provides reliable service to its approximately 6,400 electric customers. This system is composed of 100 miles of overhead and 60 miles of underground wire. The HPP system is connected to the nation's power grid through two points of entry, a rare occurrence in municipal systems. This design redundancy allows for the rapid rerouting of electric service should a failure or voltage irregularities occur.