July 31, 2008

Customers Receive $50 to Recycle Old, Inefficient Refrigerators and Freezers

ROSEMEAD, Calif., July 31, 2008 — Southern California Edison (SCE) is celebrating today its customers’ efforts to save energy by recycling its 700,000th refrigerator.

SCE pays $50 to customers to encourage them to get rid of one of their worst household energy hogs — old, inefficient refrigerators or freezers. The utility, which over the past 15 years has collected 700,000 refrigerators and freezers in an effort to encourage conservation, picks up the units at no charge to the customer and recycles them in an environmentally friendly manner.

”Most people don’t realize that they’re spending about $300 a year to keep that six-pack of soda cold in that spare fridge,” said Gene Rodrigues, SCE’s director of energy efficiency. “The Refrigerator and Freezer Recycling Program makes it easy to save money, energy and help protect the environment.”

Refrigerators use about 18 percent of the electricity in a typical California home; a refrigerator or freezer that was purchased before 1993 can use up to 50 percent more than a new ENERGY STAR-qualified model. Recycling an old refrigerator or freezer can save enough energy to power an average home for 45 days and will prevent the release of 60 pounds of carbon dioxide.

In addition to the $50 incentive for recycling, SCE also offers a $50 rebate toward the purchase of a new ENERGY STAR-labeled refrigerator.

Old refrigerators and freezers unplugged by SCE’s recycling program have saved a total of 7 billion kilowatt-hours — enough to power more than 1 million homes, and the carbon reduction equivalent of taking about a million cars off the road. In 2008, SCE anticipates it will recycle 80,000 refrigerators and freezers.

SCE is the nation’s leading utility for energy efficiency, with dozens of rebates and incentives for homeowners, renters and businesses of every size. During the past five years, SCE’s customers have saved more than 5 billion kilowatt-hours — enough energy to power 725,000 homes for an entire year.

Customers can learn more about the Refrigerator and Freezer Recycling Program by calling (800) 234-9722 or going to www.sce.com/save.

Helpful tips

  • A full refrigerator runs more efficiently than an empty one. Even if you don’t fill it with food, bottles of water will do the trick.
  • Keep the coils and grates free from dust and debris so that air can circulate freely and the motor won’t have to work as hard.
  • California law prohibits dumping your refrigerator or freezer in landfills.
  • A demonstration of the refrigerator recycling process can be viewed at www.edison.com/remote/flash/refrigerator_recycling.swf, and SCE’s Gene Rodrigues can be heard on a podcast at www.sce.com/Save/summertips.

 

Contact: Vanessa McGrady, (626) 302-2255
www.edisonnews.com

 

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Southern California Edison, an Edison International (NYSE:EIX) company, is the largest electric utility in California. SCE serves a population of more than 13 million via 4.8 million customer accounts in a 50,000-square-mile service area within Central, Coastal and Southern California.