The first Wednesday in October has been designated as Energy Efficiency Day by a collaborative effort of energy efficiency advocacy groups around the United States.

According to energyefficiencyday.org, the message of Energy Efficiency Day is simple: “Save Money. Cut Pollution. Create Jobs.”

PSO administers a variety of Energy Efficiency programs designed to do all those things for all types of customers. The programs range from industrial process improvements with Oil and Natural Gas to Small Business Energy Solutions to Home Weatherization assistance for qualifying households.

The same eligibility standards that apply to any PSO customer apply to PSO employees and their families, so we asked some people you may know about their experience with energy efficiency.

When Kenneth Brand was building his new home in Verdigris, he knew he wanted to use foam insulation and high efficiency heating and cooling systems.

PSO new home construction incentives available at the time helped him invest in those energy efficiencies in a more affordable way. While the new home incentive programs available have changed since Brand started his pandemic project in 2020, there are still some excellent values to be found.

His new home has a two-stage heating and cooling system and foam insulation, both of which were incentivized at the time.

This summer, when construction required him to turn the cooling system off for a day, the inside temperature remained remarkably cool thanks to the insulation, he said.

Comparing his previous home to cost savings from the new one, his new home runs for about half the cost per square foot, Brand said.

“If I knew somebody who was building a home, I’d definitely talk to them about it,” Brand said.

External Affairs Manager Frank Phillips told his mother, Clarice Phillips, that she should consider taking advantage of PSO’s weatherization assistance program.

For qualifying households, PSO’s provider, Titan ES, will perform an energy assessment and will schedule and complete necessary upgrades. The services are completed at no cost to the customer.

“Before the Titan ES team came out, I could feel air coming in around my front door, kitchen door leading to the utility room, and utility room door leading outside,” she said.

Titan blew insulation into her attic, caulked around her windows, installed weatherstripping, added foam electrical outlet and wall plates, replaced bulbs in two chandeliers with energy efficient bulbs, and added a carbon dioxide monitor. 

The crew was polite and explained everything they were doing, Phillips said. The entire process took only three or four hours.

“The weatherization has made a positive difference for me. I am more comfortable in my home after they did the weatherization. I can maintain the temperature I want without having to use as much heating and air conditioning,” Phillips said. “I am very pleased with the service I received and appreciate PSO offering their customers the opportunity to save on their electric and gas bills.”

To learn more about ways to save, visit PowerForwardWithPSO.com.