News
1/28/2010
Co-Mo unveils Power by the Hour
Tipton, Mo (Jan. 27, 2010) — Co-Mo Electric Cooperative today launched a new service aimed at helping its members monitor their energy use and save money on their electric bill.
The free service, called Power by the Hour, can be accessed via the cooperative’s recently renovated Web site, co-mo.coop. After entering some information found on the monthly electric bill, members will be shown charts of how much electricity their household has used over the past 24 hours and 30 days.
After members sign up, every time they return to the Co-Mo homepage, their household’s past 24 hours usage will be displayed.
“Many of us simply accept the electricity we use without taking a look at the times we’re using it and trying to find any correlation between our habits and our usage,” said Ken Johnson, general manager/CEO for Co-Mo. “Power by the Hour offers you information that you can use to help you link your daily activities to the effect on your electric bill. For example, what is the effect if you lower your water heater from 150 degrees to 120 degrees?”
The programming behind Power by the Hour was developed by Randy Klindt, information technology manager for Co-Mo. It takes advantage of technology already installed on members’ meter called TWACS — Two Way Automatic Communications System. TWACS allows members’ meters to tell Co-Mo how much electricity they have used. This makes Co-Mo more efficient because it doesn’t have to send a meter reader to members’ properties each month.
Taking that technology a step further, Co-Mo can use the data TWACS returns and run it through Klindt’s program to turn it into a graph so members can chart their electricity use.
“Once you know the effect of your lifestyle on your electric bill, you can start to see ways to lower your energy use,” Johnson said. “Lower energy use translates directly into a lower electric bill, especially when you consider that Co-Mo is not expecting a rate increase in 2010. In other words, Power by the Hour can give you the information that puts you in control of your electric bill.”
The Power by the Hour program is 100 percent secure, and no private information is displayed on the graphs.
ABOUT CO-MO ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE - Co-Mo's service area comprises approximately 2,300 square miles in Central Missouri. Co-Mo exists to fulfill its members’ needs for superior electric and related services at fair and reasonable prices and support its communities through economic, civic and educational opportunities.
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