Seattle City Light is taking conservation to an even higher level. A five-year Conservation Action Plan unveiled recently by Mayor Greg Nickels outlines the utility’s strategy to more than double the community’s current savings. To achieve this goal, the utility is investing $185 million in 31 conservation programs. That's seven times the national average for conservation spending on a per capita basis. Read more.

Conserving electricity is nothing new for Seattle. This community has been a national leader in energy savings for three decades.

It started in the late 70s when the City Council decided not to join in on the construction of five nuclear power plants and instead directed Seattle City Light (my employer) to pursue conservation as the first resource of choice.

The savings over the years have been substantial. In 2007, the utility exceeded its goal of saving 7.4 average Megawatts of electricity. That’s 7.4 million watts every hour of every day for a year.

Now, Seattle City Light is taking conservation to an even higher level.

The Five-year Conservation Action Plan unveiled recently by Mayor Greg Nickels outlines the utility’s strategy to more than double the community’s current savings to 15.8 average Megawatts per year.

To achieve this goal, the utility is investing $185 million in 31 conservation programs – 17 for residential customers and 14 for commercial and industrial customers. Among the help for your home, financial assistance is available for buying compact fluorescent light bulbs, recycling your old refrigerator or buying an energy efficient washing machine. For your business, the incentives include financial assistance for lighting retrofits, energy efficient refrigeration and green building designs on new construction.

The $185 million amounts to seven times the national average for conservation spending on a per capita basis. Once again, Seattle is taking a national leadership role in environmentally friendly energy practices.

Seattle City Light is investing heavily in conservation for two reasons. It will keep operating costs – and rates – down while avoiding greenhouse gas emissions that might be created from a new power plant.

A Megawatt saved is a Megawatt earned.

Saving energy through conservation incentives costs about two-thirds less than going out on the market to buy additional power or building a new power plant. That savings will help City Light maintain the lowest electricity rates of any large city in the country.

That Seattle and the suburban communities served by City Light have done so much with conservation already is a testament to their citizens.

When energy prices are high, lots of people search for ways to save. Just look at what happened when gasoline hit $4.50 a gallon. Suddenly full-sized SUVs were collecting dust and fuel economy was all anybody wanted to talk about.

Seattle City Light customers have been adapting to energy efficient technologies and eliminating energy waste even when the costs were low. Maybe we’re just smart enough to recognize that saving energy is part of keeping those prices low.

Now the point of THIS SPACE is to share energy conservation tips that you can use to reduce your electricity use and save a little money at the same time. Typically, I give you ONE THING in each column that you can do.

I might be stretching the ONE THING premise a bit this time, but that ONE THING this week is to check out the City Light plan and find a program that works for you.

If you bought compact fluorescent light bulbs through the Twist & Save discount program, try an online home energy audit.

Whatever you choose, increasing the efficiency of your electricity usage will allow you to maintain your lifestyle while lessening your impact on the planet and keeping a little more money in your bank account.