It pays to be on power company’s conservation plan

Alice Rapp, North Las Vegas

Thursday, June 10, 2010 | 2:02 a.m.

Regarding NV Energy’s proposal for smart meters:

I’ve been on the Cool Share (previously Cool Credit) program since the early 1990s. The power company turns off my two air-conditioning units by radio control (called an event) for about 10 minutes every hour from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.

In return, $10 are deducted from my electric bill for four months. Also, $2 are deducted for every “event” in each month. I keep my thermostat set at 76 degrees. I can’t tell when they’ve turned off my AC. My house is 2,400 square feet and stays cool. I’m retired, at home in the daytime, and very comfortable.

In addition, I signed up for the TOU (time of use) rate, which works like smart meters.

For 37 years when I worked, I got home at 4 p.m. and cooked dinner, but was always too tired to clean the kitchen until 7 p.m. Then I ran the dishwasher, washing machine, electric dryer, vacuum, etc. I leave my computer on all day.

So the TOU is not a problem. Electricity costs 23.339 cents per kilowatt hour from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m., but only 10.688 cents the rest of the time. It’s not a problem to do my work in the evening.

In May my bill was $38.60. But I had accumulated a credit of $182.74 with the Cool Share program. The utility deducted my bill from my credit and left a $144.14 credit. I didn’t pay anything. I received my June bill and it is $44.26 — that was deducted from my credit, so I still have $99.88, which they’ll use next month and I still don’t have to pay.

Most women today work during the daytime hours and, like me, do their housework in the evenings. That means the smart meters would be to their advantage. I can’t see why anyone wouldn’t want them. Maybe it’s natural to fear anything new.