Electric Prices Continue to Increase Even in Bad Economy

Many Americans and American businesses have been feeling the pinch of the recession and extended economic downturn. Every increase in prices from fueling up our cars to the cost of groceries is making it that much more painful. AEP residential and commercial customers in Ohio can add their electric bills to that list. From December 2011 to January 2012 residential rates of AEP's Columbus Southern Power customers rose 4 percent and AEP's Ohio Power customers by 5 percent. Worse yet, small business (commercial) customers are seeing even higher increases.

These increases are part of a negotiated settlement between AEP and the PUCO on AEP's most recent rate case. This won't be the last, nor the biggest of the increases, covered by the settlement which sets AEP's electric rates for Ohio customers between this year and 2016. In the coming weeks those of us here at the ESP blog will feature a series of articles breaking down the specifics of the rate case and what AEP Ohio customers can expect as a result.

Tip of the Week

The best ways of making our businesses and homes more energy efficient are the ones which cost little or nothing to implement and do not effect the comfort of our environment or the use of devices we rely on. One of the devices most commonly used in people's daily lives, computers, are a significant source of energy consumption. But, it's not like we're going to start using them less or stop using them altogether to save energy either. Fortunately when it comes to computers there is a painless, cost-effective solution; use laptops instead of desktops whenever possible.

The average desktop computer consumes between 150 and 250 watts of electricity when in use compared to the average laptop which only uses between 15 and 60 watts of electricity. That's as much as a 90% reduction! Plus, the 150 to 250 watts consumed by a desktop computer doesn't count the devices connected to it. You can add another 15 to 75 watts for an LCD monitor, or if you're using an old CRT monitor that number could be 80 watts or more. Now consider that laptops when put into sleep mode consume even less, as little as a fraction of a watt, and the savings keep stacking up. Of course there's also the benefit of laptops being portable too.

So the next time you're looking to replace a computer in your home or business, choose a laptop and enjoy the savings that come with it.