Program Overview
The Northern Illinois Energy Project (NIEP) was created to conserve energy and reduce electricity costs for residential customers of Commonwealth Edison by providing a discount on compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs. Over the course of three years, 1.8 million CFLs will be sold as part of this promotion.
Goals of the program include educating consumers on the multiple benefits of high quality energy-efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs and increasing the market benefits of CFLs in non-traditional retail outlets such as grocery stores, drug stores and multi-purpose stores.
MEEA successfully launched the first round of promotions at Family Dollar, Food 4 Less and Walgreens in the spring of 2006. The second series will launch this fall. Manufacturer and retailer partners are selected to participate through a competitive request for proposal (RFP) process.
The program will run for three years with two promotions per year, one in the spring and fall. Promotions include market buy-down incentives and point-of-purchase materials that explain the energy, economic and environmental benefits of CFLs.
How it Got Started
The Northern Illinois Energy Project Residential Lighting Program is a partnership between the Citizens Utility Board (CUB), the City of Chicago and Cook County State's Attorney's Office. NIEP also runs other projects targeting residential customers on reducing their energy consumption.
Impacts of Program
Since Spring of 2005, over 804,000 CFLs were sold through Family Dollar, Hilander, Food 4 Less and Walgreens, translating to over 287 million kWhs saved over the lifetime of the bulbs. The third round of promotions will begin in May 2007, with a goal of selling more than 242,000 CFLs.
Regional Collaboration
Currently, the program only runs in northern Illinois. However, it can easily be extended to any other state or service territory, further expanding the reach and benefits of the program and reducing costs to each sponsor.
Call to Action
Compact fluorescent light bulbs are a great way to help consumers become more energy efficient. To find out about MEEA's current lighting programs, please email Aimee Skrzekut or call her at 312.673.2480.
