Archive for the 'Energy' Category
Thursday, June 4th, 2009
CNT recently helped to co-author a guide that will help cities and counties to develop a longterm and sustainable energy efficiency and conservation plan and maximize the opportunity for cost savings, environmental benefits, financial leverage and economic development. “Chicago’s Guide to Completing an Energy Efficiency and Conservation Strategy”, was co-authored by the Chicago Department of the Environment, CNT Board Member Julia Parzen of Urban Sustainability Associates and CNT.
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Posted in Energy, Featured Portfolio News | No Comments »
Wednesday, April 8th, 2009
The Illinois Smart Grid Initiative (ISGI)’s new report, “Empowering Consumers through a Modern Electric Grid”, explores the potential benefits of a modernized electric grid and maps a policy path for achieving those benefits for consumers and the economy. At a time when both President Obama’s Administration and Congress have prioritized electric grid modernization and the jobs potential it holds, Illinois is well positioned to become the national leader in the adoption of a truly consumer-focused smart grid.
Illinois residents face $6-11 billion annually in costs related to power outages and power disruptions, with many communities experiencing outage levels far above the national average. The ISGI Report outlines how a smart grid can fundamentally improve reliability and efficiency, integrate renewable energy on the local level, and empower consumers to take charge of and reduce their electricity bills–while saving energy and reducing carbon emissions.
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Posted in Energy, General News, Illinois Smart Grid Initiative | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, March 4th, 2009
CNT Energy’s Power Smart Pricing program received some notable attention from the media this week. Stories about the program appeared on the local news on both the ABC and NBC affiliates in Peoria on March 2. The ABC affiliate in Champaign featured Power Smart Pricing in the March 3 local news program. The news stories provided a good introduction to the program, including possible savings and tips on who can benefit from hourly electricity pricing.
View the story from the Champaign station. Also, read a recent Press Release, “Downstate Illinois Households Get Power Smart to Cut Costs”.
Posted in Energy, Featured Portfolio News, Power Smart Pricing | No Comments »
Wednesday, October 8th, 2008
Power Smart Pricing is a different electricity pricing option offered by the Ameren Illinois Utilities and administered by CNT Energy. Under the standard residential rate, electricity costs the same amount no matter what time of day you use it. Power Smart Pricing lets you pay the hourly, wholesale market price of electricity which varies throughout the day and is often lower than the standard fixed rate. The program has been available since May 2007 and boasts more than 2,000 participants, several of whom recently sang its praises to CNT Energy staff and local newspaper reporters.
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Posted in Energy, Featured Portfolio News | No Comments »
Friday, June 6th, 2008
The Illinois Smart Grid Initiative is a voluntary group of state and local government, consumer, business, environmental, and utility stakeholders that will work together to examine how consumers can benefit from comprehensive grid modernization in Illinois. The Initiative is a project of CNT and is funded by the Galvin Project and assisted by the Galvin Electricity Initiative and USDOE.
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Posted in Energy, Featured Portfolio News, Illinois Smart Grid Initiative | No Comments »
Tuesday, May 27th, 2008
This month, CNT Energy will host workshops to help Illinois households manage their summer electricity costs. Attend a free Summer Energy Saving Workshop to get the information you need to enjoy the summer without blowing your budget on electricity.
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Posted in Energy, Featured Portfolio News | No Comments »
Tuesday, August 21st, 2007
You’ve gotten rid of your car, shop the local farmer’s market with your cloth bag, and purchased green tags to offset your vacation. And still not quite satisfied you are doing all you can to reduce your carbon footprint. Adapting your way of life is important so you want to feel like you’ve made strides that impact both the environment and your wallet.
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Posted in Climate, Energy, Featured Portfolio News, Green Building, Press Clippings | No Comments »
Thursday, May 31st, 2007
Affordable housing, especially in the Chicago region, is increasingly difficult to acquire and is a threat to the economic future of the region. Today, area leaders in government, non-profit and the business sectors unveiled a program to reverse these dramatic losses in the affordable rental housing stock. Created in 2005, The Preservation Compact is a project of the Urban Land Institute and is supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
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Posted in Energy, Featured Portfolio News, Press Releases | 1 Comment »
Monday, January 8th, 2007
Monday’s front page of The New York Times (01/08/07) covered CNT’s Community Energy Cooperative and its role in today’s energy market. Read here about the Energy-Smart Pricing Plan and how consumers are paying for their electricity by the hour.
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Posted in Energy, Press Clippings | 3 Comments »
Tuesday, November 21st, 2006
At the Chicago Sun-Times Innovations Awards ceremony in October, where the Community Energy Cooperative’s Energy-Smart Pricing Plan was recognized for saving consumers money while reducing stress on the electricity grid, to the delight of everyone from the Coop, Maurie Gamze was in attendance.
CNT's CEO, Kathy Tholin, in receiving the Innovations Award, recognized Maurie from the podium as the real innovator behind the Energy-Smart Pricing Plan.
Maurie Gamze is a visionary engineer, who served on the Board at CNT and recently retired from a staff position at the Community Energy Cooperative. While working with the Cooperative, Gamze applied his decades of energy management experience to develop the framework of the ground-breaking electricity pricing program.
Today the Energy-Smart Pricing Plan has demonstrated that hourly pricing can save customers money, encourage energy efficiency, and reduce strain on the electricity infrastructure during hours when demand is highest. We were happy that Mr. Gamze was in attendance to take part in the honor of this innovation.
Customers who are interested in receiving more information about how they can enroll in the new, expanded program can fill out an interest form at www.energycooperative.org.
Posted in Energy, Press Releases | 1 Comment »
