Incentives to Cut Power Use

I read in “Rule May Spur Firms to Waste Energy” (July 2) that big companies like Hewlett-Packard and Oracle are actually using more energy than they need to, so that they will be able to cut back the required percentage when asked to in an emergency, to avoid a large penalty. HP said it could cut back another 10% right now but won’t because of the inadequate solution.

Speaking of dumb decisions, how about the one that will reward the rest of us if we cut back by 20%? I have been cutting my energy costs for many years. I began using low-wattage bulbs and switched to the new energy-efficient bulbs as they came out. I don’t use air-conditioning during the day unless the temperature rises above 80 degrees in my house. When I last roofed my house I chose a light material and installed a vent to cool the attic. I have trees for shade. I use fans during the evening to pull cool air into the house and to exhaust hot air. There is no way I could squeeze in 20% more. I live in Pasadena and not in the land of Edison. However, there must be many people like me who will get no benefit for the conservation of the past, and certainly none this summer.

Gerald Orcholski

Pasadena

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The article reminded me of conditions in my parents’ San Fernando Valley neighborhood during the drought of the late 1970s. My dad taught us to take short showers, to wash a car with a bucket of water and to conserve sprinkler water, while neighbors soaked their lawns daily and let hundreds of gallons of water run down the gutter. When it was time to reduce water consumption, one’s allotment was based on past consumption. My water-thrifty parents were reduced to carrying buckets of dishwater and shower runoff to their yard to water roses because their allotment was so small. Meanwhile, their neighbors continued, during the drought, to run sprinklers willy-nilly.

Water hogs, power hogs. Things don’t really change, do they?

Joan Swenson

Bakersfield

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Re “Power Customers Are Getting Shocked as They Open Bills,” June 30:

While your article focused only on customers who experienced higher June bills due to the state’s new surcharges, you overlooked the important fact that close to half of our 3.5 million residential customers, who did not exceed 130% of their summer baseline allocation, were not affected by the new rates at all. Their use less/pay less strategy works.

More important, close to a million income-qualified Edison customers are not only exempt from the surcharges but can receive a 20% rate discount through the California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) program. This program is undersubscribed by about 40%, which means there are tens of thousands of eligible low-income customers paying more than they need to. We invite them to sign up and begin saving on their next bill.

Clarence Brown

Vice President

Corporate Communications

Southern California Edison

Rosemead