EnergySolutions : Eversource Customers and Regional Grid Benefit from Energy Efficiency

Amid warnings from our region's independent grid operator that keeping the lights on in the coming winters will be increasingly difficult, Eversource is committed to working towards a number of solutions to help reduce the cost of energy for customers, as well as to ensure the ever-increasing demand for energy doesn't threaten the reliability of the electric system. In addition to proposing important projects and infrastructure upgrades that will help meet demand during winter cold snaps, we also continue to work with residential customers and businesses to achieve savings through energy efficiency.

'If a 'perfect storm' of problems were to occur, ISO system operators could be forced to use stronger measures, such as asking the public to conserve electricity or, in extreme cases, ordering controlled power outages.' ISO-NE, 2017 Regional Electricity Outlook.

By enhancing the energy efficiency of their businesses and homes, our customers are not only saving money, they are also helping to reduce the region's demand for energy. Eversource, along with the other New Hampshire utilities, provides energy efficiency programs to our customers as part of NHSaves. In 2017, NHSaves will help customers make important energy efficiency gains:

• The measures implemented in 2017 will reduce peak energy demand by 8 megawatts (MW), which in turn will reduce total costs for all New Hampshire electric customers by $148 million.
• Emissions reductions resulting from the 2017 plan are the equivalent to taking 144,406 cars of the road for a year.

To help residential customers reduce their energy use and electricity costs, Eversource continues to:

• Help low income customers achieve safer, healthier, more energy efficient homes by providing air-sealing, insulation and other weatherization measures.
• Work with Home Energy Raters and building contractors, to incentivize the construction of highly efficient homes that use 15-30 percent less energy than a standard new home.
• Help customers purchase highly efficient appliances that consume 10-20 percent less energy.
• Partner with more than 100 lighting retailers and suppliers across the state to reduce the barriers for New Hampshire customers to purchase energy efficient lighting, which can save homeowners between $30 to $80 over the lifetime of a single product.

Eversource is also committed to helping businesses and municipalities achieve energy and cost savings through investments in efficiency measures. These efforts include:

• Working with qualified private contractors to help businesses and non-profits identify and install more efficient lighting, heating and cooling equipment, industrial process equipment, and more.
• Helping municipalities to save energy in public buildings, reducing overall costs to taxpayers and making public spaces a model for efficiency improvements.

  Significant recent investments by local businesses and municipalities include the following:

• Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc. installed new equipment featuring modern controls and a more efficient fan at Pine Tree Castings, Ruger's investment casting facility in Newport. The equipment is expected to reduce the company's annual energy costs by more than $9,000. The upgrade was funded in part by a nearly $22,000 incentive paid by Eversource's 'Commercial and Industrial Retrofit' energy efficiency program.
• Londonderry High School replaced their outdoor lights with LED lights, utilizing a $6,670 rebate from Eversource. The upgrade was estimated to potentially reduce the Londonderry School District's energy usage by about 75,000 kilowatt hours annually, reducing costs for outdoor lighting by almost $9,000 per year.
• High-tech, Nashua manufacturer Amphenol Printed Circuits completed a comprehensive project to upgrade the facility's heating and cooling system. The upgrades, funded in part by a $128,000 incentive paid by Eversource's Energy Rewards Program, are expected to reduce the company's energy use by more than 650,000 kilowatt hours per year, enough to power 100 average New Hampshire homes for a year.
• Keene State College included a number of significant energy efficiency features in construction the school's new Pondside Living, Learning, Community Residence Hall. The project received a $150,000 incentive paid by Eversource's 'New Equipment and Construction' energy efficiency program. The upgrades, which include high performance lighting and thermal energy recovery to supply the school's heating and cooling needs, are expected to result in annual energy savings of about $79,000.