BGE Helps Customers Put a Stake in the Heart of Vampire Energy this Halloween

Company provides customers with tips to save energy and money

BALTIMORE (October 31, 2014) – Although goblins, ghouls and ghosts are most prominent around Halloween, vampire energy can be a menace all year long. Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (BGE) warns customers to beware of vampire energy around homes and businesses to avoid being spooked.

Vampire, or phantom energy, is energy used by computers, televisions, lamps, chargers, and other appliances that continue to use power even while plugged in but powered off. Vampire energy slowly, but continuously, drains energy even when the product is not in use. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that vampire energy costs customers in the United States more than $10 billion a year.

BGE provides the following tips and tools to help customers save energy, and money, year-round:

Use a power strip with an on/off switch to fully power down electronics in your home.
Unplug your charger for your cell phone, portable music player or other electronics once fully charged.
When preparing for out-of-town travel, unplug all nonessential devices.
Look for the ENERGY STAR® label on home appliances, electronics and other products. ENERGY STAR certified products meet strict efficiency guidelines set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy.

To find out where energy vampires may be hiding in your home, customers are encouraged to schedule a BGE Quick Home Energy Check-up. The program offers customers opportunities to save energy and money by providing simple tips to help improve energy efficiency. In addition, customers who schedule a Quick Home Energy Check-up will receive up to 20 energy efficient, money-saving items installed in their homes including a smart strip to address vampire energy. Customers will also learn about a variety of discounts, rebates and programs available through BGE’s Smart Energy Savers Program®, all designed to help customers save energy and money. The BGE Quick Home Energy Check-up and installed measures are included in customers’ BGE residential electric service and are available at no additional cost.

Customers can take their energy savings to the next level by scheduling a comprehensive home energy audit through BGE’s Home Performance with ENERGY STAR® Program. The $100 audit (a $400 value) uses advanced diagnostic tests to produce a more detailed assessment of a home’s energy use and reveal even more ways to save energy, save money and improve a home’s comfort, safety and durability.

BGE has several initiatives and programs to empower customers with tools to better manage and reduce their energy bills. The BGE Smart Energy Savers Program is a suite of programs that enable all customers to control energy use, leading to more efficient use of electricity and lowering energy bills from where they otherwise would be. Collectively, the programs help contain the cost of energy and improve reliability. The programs also help to reduce peak demand and slow the growth in energy consumption to lessen the need for more power plants. The BGE Smart Energy Savers Program supports 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.

Customers with smart meters are also encouraged to login to their BGE.com account and view the BGE Smart Energy Manager® tool to learn even more about how to reduce their energy usage year-round. Through the BGE Smart Energy Manager, customers have access to a suite of energy management tools such as to set a target budget for energy bills per month and track performance on a daily basis, well before the bill arrives. Customers can also compare energy usage to average households that are a similar size and determine how and when they use the most electricity. BGE Smart Energy Manager also provides customers with personalized cost-saving tips based on their energy usage data.

For more information and ways to reduce energy use and save money, visit bge.com/winterready.

###

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.