In 2010, Duke Energy launched a program called My Home Energy Report (MyHER), through which it sends customers an analysis of their energy use with comparisons to similar households. The goal is to motivate people to reduce their energy use, and Duke tries to help them do that by providing timely tips and special offers, including rebates on purchases of energy-efficient appliances, free and discounted lightbulbs, and free home energy audits.
Homeowners receive MyHER reports eight times a year, says Kelly Kuehn, senior products and services manager at Duke Energy. When the program started, reports were only sent out in the mail, but now they're also available online, she says.
Duke Energy started MyHER in partnership with Tendril, a data analytics software company. The program is the first of its kind in the world to hit the 1 terawatt-hour energy savings milestone, which is enough energy to light more than 1 million homes for a year, Kuehn says.
"The cleanest power plant is the one that doesn't need to be built," Kuehn says. "With the MyHER report, our customers receive targeted insights that help them take action to reduce their energy consumption. The results have been remarkable."
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