Its all-star lineup of backers admits that Kill-A-Watt is a gimmick, but that doesn't lessen their support for a plan to encourage energy conservation. The initiative, developed by a Paramus, N.J.-based energy services company, calls for New Jersey residents to voluntarily reduce their use of electricity from 2 to 4 p.m. Thursday.
NEWARK, N.J. — Its all-star lineup of backers admits that Kill-A-Watt is a gimmick, but that doesn't lessen their support for a plan to encourage energy conservation.
The initiative, developed by a Paramus-based energy services company, calls for New Jersey residents to voluntarily reduce their use of electricity from 2 to 4 p.m. Thursday. The program was announced at a news conference Tuesday in Newark.
In the overall scheme of things, turning air conditioners up a degree or two and turning off unneeded lights for a couple of hours is not likely to save much fuel.
But doing so can provide the push needed for companies, governmental agencies and consumers to economize year-round, said Connie Hughes, a Board of Public Utilities commissioner.
"It's a myth that one person is not enough to make a difference," Hughes said. "We all have the power to save."
The key is what happens next, said Joan Verplanck, president of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce.
"Operation Kill-A-Watt is the beginning of a long-term effort to educate member companies on ways to reduce energy consumption," Verplanck said.
"As the demand on the nation's energy grid increases with each passing month, we have to encourage businesses to engage in these conservation measures on a regular basis, not just between 2 and 4 o'clock on some day in June."
Thursday's two-hour cutback is a "symbolic event," but the results will be quantifiable, allowing participants to see how much they have saved, former Gov. James Florio said.
Merck, Novartis and Verizon are among several major companies around New Jersey that have said they would support the program, and BPU President Jeanne Fox has written to other state agencies asking them to join in.
The program was created "as a way to get our message out to the public," said Keith Hartman, president of Public Energy Solutions in Paramus, which was spun off from Public Service Enterprise Group in 2002.
It costs very little or nothing to participate, but once companies see the benefits, they will hopefully make it a way of life, he said.
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Source: Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
