SUMMERDALE, Alabama — Whether it’s during the bitter cold of winter (as bitter cold as winter can get in south Alabama) or the brutal heat of the summer, Baldwin EMC hopes to cash, lowering its energy costs while passing the savings on to its members when it launches an incentive program this summer.

CENTSIBLE POWER is a voluntary program open to all Baldwin EMC residential members and is designed to help save on utility bills in a variety of ways, said Kevin Wilson, an energy marketing specialist at EMC.

“The program is designed for us to be able to lower the peak demand, which in turn will lower our wholesale power costs, which we will then pass that savings on to the customer,” Wilson said.

Those who sign up for the program will receive load management devices, which can be attached to their water heater, air conditioner and heating equipment.

“You can sign up to receive one or more devices and you can receive a device for every (electric-based) unit in your home,” Wilson said.

When the demand for electricity reaches a high level because of extreme cold or hot weather, the cost of power is affected for 12 months, Wilson said. By reducing the amount of electricity used at these peak times, EMC hopes to be able to lower its cost of electricity and pass the savings on to its members.

The devices will cycle the connected equipment for a predetermined length of time. This will only happen when it has been determined that a peak will be reached. A signal is then sent to the devices.

Air conditioning and heating units will be turned off for nine minutes at a time for no more than four hours per day, approximately 30 minutes apart. The water heater cycle will last at least 30 minutes and as long as four hours each day.

“Since your hot water heater will most likely not be emptied during that cycle and heating/air conditioning units normally turn on and shut off on a cycle, customers will likely see little or no effects during the cycle,” Wilson said.

During warm months, peak hours are between 3 and 7 p.m., while in the winter months, peak hours are between 5 and 8 a.m., Wilson said.

In addition to lower utility costs, members will receive monthly credits for signing up for the program, Wilson said, $3 per month for each water heater connected during peak winter months (November through April); $2 per month for the summer months (May through October); $2.25 credit per month for each heating unit and air conditioning unit.

Members can also sign up to be able to control their heating/air conditioning devices from their smart phones, Wilson said.

“There are different settings customers can use,” Wilson said. “There’s a weekday mode, a weekend mode or a vacation mode if you’re not going to be in your home for several days at a time. We have gotten a lot of response to this, particularly among condo owners at the beach.”

EMC launched the program at the beginning of the year with plans to test the program beginning in February.

“We sent out notices with bills and were going to market the test program, but we had such a good response by word of mouth, we decided to go ahead,” Wilson said.

Roughly 700 of EMC’s 72,000 units are now participating in the program, he said, with plans to begin a marketing campaign in June in hopes that number will increase to 10,000.

Right now the program is only open to residential customers, he said, but could expand to commercial customers depending on the response.

EMC serves rural customers throughout Baldwin County with its main office in Summerdale and satellite offices in Orange Beach and Bay Minette.

In order to participate in the program, you do have to be a customer of EMC, which is a member-owned cooperative. There are also certain criteria that have to be met to be a part of the program, Wilson said.

If you would like more information about signing up for the program, you can call Wilson at 251-989-0143 or fellow energy marketing specialist Brad Taylor at 251-989-0167. You can also call EMC’s toll-free line at 1-800-837-3374 or visit baldwinemc.com for more information.