More than 800,000 BGE customers with a smart meter are eligible to participate in the BGE Smart Energy Rewards® program and will receive bill credits for voluntarily reducing their electricity usage

BALTIMORE, September 4, 2014 – Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (BGE) will hold a voluntary Smart Energy Rewards Program Energy Savings Day on Friday, Sept. 5, 2014 and encourages all customers with a smart meter to conserve energy between the hours of 1 p.m. – 7 p.m. Since the Smart Energy Rewards Program inception, BGE customers have received $9.5 million in bill credits for voluntary participation in the Smart Energy Rewards Program.

BGE customers with a smart meter installed at their home who participate in the BGE Smart Energy Rewards program by voluntarily reducing their electricity usage will earn a bill credit of $1.25 for every kilowatt-hour saved from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. on the Energy Savings Day. Eligible customers, for whom BGE has contact information, will be notified this evening by an automated phone call and email and they can opt-in for a text notification. These notifications help customers plan ahead to ensure they have time to shift or reduce electricity use between 1 p.m. – 7 p.m. on the Energy Savings Day. To ensure customers receive Energy Savings Day notifications, customers should update their contact information and notification preferences by visiting BGE.com/MyAccount. BGE will also keep customers updated on BGE.com and BGE.com/EnergySavingsDay.

During Energy Savings Days, customers that choose to participate in both BGE Smart Energy Rewards and the voluntary PeakRewardsSM Air Conditioning program will have their central air conditioner (A/C) automatically cycled up to the 50 percent level, which means their A/C compressors will run for half of the time it normally would. Only customers who have opted in to the PeakRewards Program will have their air conditioning units cycled. For more information on how PeakRewards works with BGE Smart Energy Rewards, visit BGE.com/TwoWaystoSave.

For customers who choose to participate in the Energy Savings Day, BGE recommends the following tips to help save energy and stay comfortable throughout the event: 

• Raise the thermostat 3 or 4 degrees above the normal setting between 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. If you don’t plan to be home before 7 p.m., raise your air conditioner temperature even higher for added savings. 
• Consider turning some window units off during the Energy Savings Day, if you have them. 
• Stay hydrated – drink plenty of water. 
• Consider going to a cool place such as a movie theater, mall or pool. 
• Relax in the basement where the temperature is typically several degrees cooler than the rest of the house. 
• Use an outdoor grill or microwave instead of the stove or oven. 
• Minimize appliance use during peak hours. Appliances can account for up to 25 percent of your home's energy use and produce heat that warms up your home. Delay the use of your dishwasher, clothes washer, dryer and other electric appliances until after 7 p.m. 
• Keep shades, blinds and curtains closed. Approximately 40 percent of unwanted heat comes through windows. Simply drawing blinds and curtains, which act as a layer of insulation, can reduce heat gain to your home and make rooms feel several degrees cooler. 
• Turn on ceiling fans. Make sure the blades are rotating counter-clockwise.

BGE thanks its customers for participating in the BGE Smart Energy Rewards and PeakRewards programs, which help to reduce peak electric demand and ensure the reliability of the electric delivery system. These programs support the EmPOWER Maryland Energy Efficiency Act’s goal of reducing both per capita energy consumption and per capita peak demand by 15 percent by the end of 2015.

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BGE, headquartered in Baltimore, is Maryland’s largest gas and electric utility, delivering power to more than 1.2 million electric customers and more than 655,000 natural gas customers in central Maryland. The company’s approximately 3,400 employees are committed to the safe and reliable delivery of gas and electricity, as well as enhanced energy management, conservation, environmental stewardship and community assistance. BGE is a subsidiary of Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC), the nation’s leading competitive energy provider, with 2013 revenues of approximately $24.9 billion. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter, YouTube and Flickr.