After never seeing a power bill, San Diego families in military housing will start getting invoices for their electricity use later this year.
They won’t have to cover the entire cost. But military families who crank up the air conditioning or leave all the lights on — at least 10 percent more than the average user — will owe for the excess.
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In Hawaii, the first Navy region to try the power-metering concept in 2011, about a third of military homes receive a monthly invoice averaging more than $60.
On the flip side, energy-saving households get cash back as an incentive. About a third of Hawaii families use less than the average amount and get monthly rebates averaging $57.
All told, the Navy has cut power use by 10.5 percent in Hawaii. About 15 million kilowatt-hours have been conserved, equaling $3.3 million.
The savings in San Diego are expected to be about the same, though electricity is less expensive here. It will cost $3 million to install power meters in older homes that lack them.
The change is driven by a 1998 Pentagon directive that ordered energy conservation at housing complexes managed by public-private joint ventures — in San Diego County, basically all military family housing constructed over the past decade.
Read more at: http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/apr/08/tp-navy-begins-power-metering/
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