Posted on 01/08/2008 7:19:28 AM PST by Abundy
WASHINGTON COUNTY - Allegheny Power’s efforts to supply its 220,000 residential Maryland customers with energy-efficient fluorescent light bulbs might have burned out some post office personnel.
And as it turns out, the package of two bulbs isn’t free — customers are being charged 96 cents on their monthly bills for one year — in all, $11.52 — under the category of energy surcharge.
“The charge became effective in October,” said Todd Meyers, spokesman for Allegheny Power.
He said the Maryland Public Service Commission on Sept. 26, 2007, gave the utility permission to add the surcharge to customers’ bills.
Contacted by telephone, a large Hagerstown supermarket chain store spokesman said a comparable light bulb made by General Electric sells for $7.99 for each bulb.
In December, Maryland post offices began receiving deliveries of skids containing large boxes filled with smaller boxes containing two Earthbrite 13-watt bulbs.
“They came in waves,” said Jay Jones, customer service supervisor at the Hagerstown Post Office on West Franklin Street. Coming right in the middle of the Christmas rush, Jones said the delivery of more than 30,000 boxes of light bulbs was disruptive.
The problem was that each of those boxes had to be individually scanned and that meant more time on the part of carriers, Jones said. Some carriers sorted their regular mail, delivered it, came back in for the boxes, then returned to their routes to deliver them, he said.
“This caused overtime for some of our carriers,” Jones said.
The boxes were still coming in, Jones said Friday, but now they arrive in spurts instead of waves.
Tammy Staley, a clerk at the Funkstown Post Office, said the light bulbs that were delivered there for the 760 postal customers had residents’ street addresses, not post office boxes, on the packages.
Funkstown does not have home mail delivery. Residents’ mail is placed in boxes at the post office. The post office does not put mail into the boxes unless the box number is included in the address.
“We got them in with street addresses, and we had to put the P.O. boxes on them and send them back,” Staley said. “It took some time to do all that.”
As of Friday, the boxes hadn’t come back for delivery, she said.
Kami Hoffman, officer in charge of the Boonsboro Post Office, said the bulbs posed a problem for her operation, too.
“Ours came in on skids, and this office is too small to handle skids,” Hoffman said.
She and her employees had to break the large boxes down right away so they could be accommodated in the building.
Hoffman said she used a lot of overtime and personnel to handle the deliveries.
Two in-town routes and five rural routes cover the more than 3,000 customers in the Boonsboro mailing area, Hoffman said.
Allegheny Power provides service to Maryland customers from Frederick County, Md., west, Meyers said.
In a report released a month ago, the Maryland PSC said that because Maryland uses more electricity than it generates, efforts to conserve energy are critical.
The report said shortages could force mandatory usage restrictions such as rolling blackouts by 2011 or 2012.
“The plan was originally to have them sent out in November,” Meyers said of the energy-saving bulbs. Problems with the supplier — Niagara Conservation — caused the delays, which pushed the deliveries into the Christmas season.
“We weren’t trying to create any work for anyone,” Meyers said. “And we never planned to hit crunch time” at the post offices.
Meyers said the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks.
“Each bulb will save $1 a month for each customer and should last approximately seven years,” Meyers said.
Inside the box is a message from Allegheny Power President David Flitman hailing the utility’s part in a nationwide effort to eliminate energy waste by promoting efficient products.
Also included is a two-page instruction guide that explains that the new bulbs contain mercury. Instructions for safe handling and disposal are included.
As far as Allegheny’s future plans to distribute the light bulbs in the other states it serves, Meyers said approval would have to be obtained from public service commissioners in those states.
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And I'm starting to stock up on incandescant bulbs now for the 2014 screwing we are all going to take thanks to the energy bill.
FYI - wanna do your ping list magic?
See, they are doing you a favor. They are only charging you 40% over full retail. Where can you get a better deal than that???
a 3 pack at Costco is well under $8. They are making money and screwing the customers at the same time.
Not trying to argue but what is the problem with the new bulbs?
I got a box of these things from my contractor as a bonus when i had insulation installed.
They ALL HAVE BROKEN in less than 3 years. Every single one! (I think I had about 40 of them)
And I still have some incandecents that have been in longer than that.
Uh, no.
The two bulbs total $11.52.
Two comparable bulbs would cost $15.98, according to the article.
Of course, the $15.98 was supermarket cost, which is usually higher than Walmart or a builder’s supply store.
Do they have more mercury than the fluorescent bulbs already in use?
Is this correct? Does anyone know?
Actually they’re charging under retail—they’re charging $11.52 for a package of two bulbs, and the GE bulbs are $7.99 each according to the article. But what I find amusing is that the bulbs are supposed to save $1 a month, which is roughly the amount of the surcharge. So you save exactly...NOTHING!
And there’s no way those bulbs last seven years unless you never turn them off. I had one give out after six months in a fixture that got turned on and off once or twice a day. Not to mention that the bulbs are very easy to break if you ham-fist them screwing them into the socket.
}:-)4
So am I. The mercury bombs don't work in ceiling fans.
Yep - I'm picking up an extra pack every time I go to the store.
Thanks for the info. I have to admit ignorance, as I have not considered these things. They make dimmers for fluorescent bulbs but I’m sure they are rather expensive.
Yes. They're good in locations where they won't be turned on and off a lot. Not good for the specialty fixtures mentioned.
The most economical bulbs of all are the fluorescent tubes.
Each of the new CFCs have a mini camera and microphone built into them so that The Man can spy on you. The gov’ment wanted them installed before the elections so that they can see who does and doesn’t have their mind right.
If everyone used them, the power plants will get less income, unless they raise rates, which can be difficult for a regulated industry.
So charge a surcharge to cover the delta, it’s easier.
Try a couple and you will find out!
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