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NEWSLETTERVOL 22 NO 71

Serving our customers since 1899

Wallingford Electric Division

Winter 2014

CHANGES TO ENERGY EFFICIENCY REBATE AND INCENTIVE FORMS FOR PROGRAMS AT WED

The Wallingford Electric Division (WED) would like to inform our electric customers and energy efficiency contractors that we have ceased our affiliation with the Connecti-cut Municipal Electric Cooperative (CMEEC). Consequently, all forms associated with our energy efficiency programs have changed. To obtain new copies, access our website at www.wallingfordelectric.com, select either ‘Energy Conservation - Residential’ or ‘Energy Conservation - Commercial/Industrial’. You will be able to select the form that you need and print it from there. The forms will look similar to the old forms but the address to where the form and as-sociated documentation must be sent has changed. All rebate and incentive applications and other required documentation must now be sent to Energy Efficiency Programs, Wallingford Electric Division, 100 John Street, Wallingford, CT 06492. Residential program offerings have not changed. The Home Energy Savings (HES) Program continues, with hundreds of dollars of energy efficiency improvement work being done for most customers free of charge. Other residential programs include in-centives for improving attic insulation, $500 rebates for qualifying heat pump water heaters, rebates for central air conditioning and/or air source heat pump systems, light bulb give-aways, and subsidized reduced pricing for compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs and light emitting diode (LED) bulbs at four Wallingford home improvement and big box stores. Commercial/Industrial program offerings also remain unchanged. Facility or energy managers should call Sharron Emmons, Energy Efficiency Specialist, at (203) 294-2280 or visit our website at www.wallingfordelectric.com for details. Incentives remain available for lighting retrofits, HVAC improvement projects, energy management/build-ing automation systems, and custom energy efficiency projects such as replacement of compressors or other machinery that use electricity with more efficient models. Consult the WED at (203) 294-2280 to determine eligibility and program rules. Other incentives and programs may also be available. Visit www.energizect.com for additional informa-tion. Renewable energy projects, such as solar photo-voltaic, hydro-generation and wind-generation may also be eligible for incentives as well. Call the WED for details. Visit www.gosolarct.com for additional information about solar PV projects.

√ You can pay in person at the Town Hall in Room 209 by cash or check dur-ing regular business hours . √ You can pay via the U.S. mail by us-ing the envelope included with your bill. This is sent directly to our PO Box 5003 located in Wallingford, CT. Additionally, if you use your online banking system to send us payments, please be sure to use the PO Box 5003 Wallingford, CT address to remit your payment. √ You may also use the drop box located at the lower Prince Street entrance at the Town Hall either during regular business hours or after hours. √ If you need to make payment ar-rangements on your account, you may visit our business office located at 100 John Street. √ You may use a credit card to make a payment with Official Payments, an out-side vendor we use for payment process-ing by calling 1-800-272-9829 or online at www.officialpayments.com. When prompted, please enter jurisdiction code number 1741. Also, you will need to have your account number available to provide for the payment to be processed. In addition, please be advised that there is a $4.95 fee charged to your credit card for Official Payment Corporation to proc-ess your payment. NOTE: Transactions are limited to $500.00. When paying a bill in excess of $500.00, additional transactions will be needed and an ad-ditional $4.95 will be charged for each transaction needed.

There’s More Than One Way To Pay Your Electric Bill

CASH

CREDIT CARDON-LINE

BANKINGCHECK

Protect Yourself Against Potential Electric Bill Payment Scams

It has come to the attention of the Wallingford Electric Division that an electric bill payment scam may be underway in our service area. Some of our Commercial custom-ers have received telephone calls claiming that recent payments have not been honored by the bank and the electricity will be disconnected by the end of the business day. The caller indicates that in order to prevent the termination of service, a new payment is re-quired in the form of a retail money card or a prepaid credit card made directly to a third party. If you should receive a call like this please contact our Customer Service Office at 203-294-2020 and report the incident.

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD YOU GIVE DEBIT/CREDIT CARD

OR BANK CHECK INFORMATION TO THESE CALLERS. The Wallingford Electric Division does not use a third party to make outbound calls to collect payment of any kind. Further, the only approved methods of payment submis-sion are: √ Mailed to PO Box 5003, Wallingford, CT, 06492 √ Paid in person at Town Hall, Tax Office, 45 S. Main Street √ Paid in person at Electric Division Office, 100 John Street √ Utilize the drop box located at the Prince Street entrance of the Town Hall √ Credit or debit card payments by calling Official Payments Inc. at 1-800-272-9829 (processing fees apply)

IF YOU BELIEVE YOU’RE A VICTIM OF A BILL PAYMENT SCAM

PLEASE DO THE FOLLOWING: Obtain the caller’s name and telephone number. Ask the caller to provide the electric account number and address of the account which they are trying to collect.

DO NOT PROVIDE YOUR ACCOUNT NUMBER

OR STREET ADDRESS TO THE CALLER: √ Do not reveal any personal or financial information √ Do not give debit/credit card or bank check information √ Immediately report any suspicious activity or questionable telephone calls to our Customer Service Office at 203-294-2020

General Safety Rules

Winter 2014

Wallingford Electric Division

Wallingford Electric Division • 100 John Street • Wallingford, CT 06492 • 203-294-2265

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NEVER OPERATE AN ELECTRIC APPLIANCE

while touching a metal object (especially plumbing), standing on a wet surface or tak-ing a bath or shower.

ALWAYS UNPLUG APPLIANCESbefore cleaning them or removing parts. Un-plug small electrical appliances, such as hair dryers and irons, when they’re not in use.

KEEP MOTORS CLEANand free from lint, dust and dirt.

NEVER INSERT METAL OBJECTSinto an appliance or outlet. Consult a service person if an appliance needs repair.

TEACH YOUNG CHILDRENnot to play with cords and wall outlets. Cover unused outlets with plastic safety caps.

AVOID USING EXTENSION CORDSwhenever possible. If you must use one, don’t exceed its recommended rating or plug it into another extension cord. Unplug it from the outlet after use.

If an appliance smokes, sparks or gives a shock at any time, unplug it. Call a service person to repair it before using it again.

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Wallingford Electric Division • 100 John Street • Wallingford, CT 06492 • 203-294-2265

Beware of Transformers!

When a home is served via un-derground cables, the homeowner owns these cables and the conduit in which they are installed. The Electric Division (WED) owns the primary (high-voltage) system and the transformers that step the voltage down to residential service voltages. Residential underground services are supplied either direct-ly from WED-owned transform-ers or from low-voltage junction boxes. As with overhead services, the homeowner also owns the me-ter base, and the Electric Division owns the meter. If the customer’s underground service facilities are damaged (per-haps due to an inadvertent dig-in or a failure of the service cables), it is the customer’s responsibil-ity to have a licensed electrician repair them before service can be restored. WED crews may only work on Electric Division equip-ment.

? Who Owns What ?

Wallingford Electric Division NEWSLETTER - VOL 22 NO 71

Serving our customers since 1899

Electrical equipment can be dangerous. Only au-thorized employees may enter electrical substations or open and work on pad-mounted transformers, the big dark green boxes containing high voltage equip-ment. While they are normally locked, this equipment poses serious hazards if they have been vandalized or opened. Parents are asked to teach children to stay away from them. To report anything amiss, please call the Electric Division at 203-265-5055. Electric Division customers are reminded to keep the area around their electric and water meters clear for ready access by meter readers. The Electric Division would also like to be notified of the installation of invisible fences, for the safety of meter readers who may encounter dogs they did not expect. Please call the Electric Division at 203-294-2020 to provide this information.

Winter 2014

Wallingford Electric Division NEWSLETTER - VOL 22 NO 71Serving our customers

since 1899

Wallingford Electric Division • 100 John Street • Wallingford, CT 06492 • 203-294-2265

Residential Monthly Bill Comparison ‑ December 2013Customer under the Electric Division’s Residential Rate No. 1

versus comparable rates as charged by surrounding private utilities.

Note: CL&P and UI rates based on Standard Offer Service, Residential. Most recently revised 01/01/13. WED Winter rate in effect, revised 7/01/12.

Includes: Power Cost Adjustment charge: $ .006573/kwhr. Energy Conservation Fund charge: $ .002500/kwhr.** UI customers that consume more than 2000 kWhrs in a single month are placed in

time of use rate RT. This table is for rate R only. UI winter rate in effect.

Monthly energy use in kWh

WED

UI

200 500 600 700 800750 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500Kwhr

$ 600

$ 500

$ 400

$ 300

$ 200

$ 100

$ 0

Dol

lars

When Your Power Goes Out

Wallingford Electric Division100 John Street

Wallingford, CT 06492

Business Office hoursMonday – Friday

8:30 AM – 5:00 PM

Visit us on the webwww.wallingfordelectric.com

Customer Service(203) 294-2020

To report a streetlight problem(203) 294-2273

Outage-related calls(203) 265-5055

Call Before You Dig(800) 922-4455

Energy Conservation Programs (203) 294-2280

Public Utility Commission(203) 294-2263

CommissionersRobert Beaumont

David GessertRichard Nunn

Director of Public UtilitiesGeorge Adair

General ManagerElectric Division

Richard Hendershot

Tax Office, Room 209Wallingford Town Hall45 South Main Street

W.E.D. Business Office100 John Street

Drop BoxWallingford Town Hall

adjacent to Prince Street entrance

Payment Locations

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The Electric Division frequently receives “no power” calls from customers whose own equip-ment turns out to be the cause of the interruption. Often the power can be restored simply by the customer resetting their own circuit breaker(s). Listed below are steps to follow if you lose power.1. First try to determine whether the interruption involves only your home or business. Can you see lights on at a neighbor’s? Is the nearest street light still on? Maybe you can call a neighbor to ask if they have power. Also, confirm whether the power is interrupted throughout your home or business (or just a portion).2. If the power outage appears to involve more than just your location, call the Electric Division at 265-5055 (day or night) to report the outage.3. If the outage seems to be limited to just your home or business, check the circuit breakers at your main service panel. Your main circuit breaker is typically located at the top of the panel, centered between two vertical rows of smaller circuit breakers. In some instances, the main cir-cuit breaker is located outside at the electric meter. Make sure all of them are in the ON position. Look closely, as the difference between the ON and OFF positions can be slight and sometimes difficult to notice at first glance. If all of your circuit breakers are on, call us to report the outage.4. If any circuit breaker appears to have tripped, you must first move it all the way in the OFF direction before you can successfully turn it back on. You should both feel and hear a “click” in each direction when you do this.5. If your circuit breakers stay in the ON position but you still have no power, please call us. If your circuit breaker trips again, then there is a problem within your electrical system and you should contact a licensed electrician.

CL&P