Our 20 years of experience with operating the program indicates that the member rarely notices the switch has operated. The air conditioner compressor will be operating 23 minutes out of every half hour during the activated period and the air handler fan continues to operate. The temperature in the home should not rise more that a couple of degrees (if any). The slight rise in temperature should not generate any discomfort. It will not be necessary to adjust your thermostat during the operational hours of our load management program. The switch will not affect thermostat settings of your air conditioner/heat pump.

The switch has an LED light display window on the front. A green light shows the switch is powered up and the red light indicates the switch is in the operational mode. The switch cannot be over ridden or bypassed from your home. If the switch needs to be deactivated for maintenance/service work, please call us at 770-502-0226 or toll free 1-877-746-4362.

A signal will be sent from our office on the day of operation to communicate with each switch.

Our load management program will not reduce the direct cost of your monthly power bill. However, approximately 50% of the charges in the Cooperative’s wholesale electricity bill are determined by peak demand for energy in the summer months. These demand charges have affected rates significantly in recent years. The load management program does reduce the amount of kilowatts purchased during “peak” demand hours of usage in the summer, thus helping Coweta-Fayette EMC keep your rates down now and for the years to come. Having the approximately 20,000 switches on our system as an alternative resource will reduce our wholesale cost of electricity by $10,000,000 over the next ten years.

Once the switch is installed at your home you will automatically continue in the program each year.

In the fall of each year you will receive a $10 participation bill credit issued during the month of October. Secondly, by enrolling in our $witch/$ave Program program, you help reduce the need for future power generation. When you participate in load management, you also help us keep cost down by reducing the amount of electricity we have to purchase during our peak demand hours, which is a time when electricity is usually the most expensive.

Credits are given for overall participation in the $witch/$ave Program program, not on a per switch basis.

We recommend that you set your thermostat to a higher temperature in the summer and a lower temperature in the winter since no one will be home for the extended period of time. This is not as a result of participating in the switch/save program, but will help with the conservation of electricity.

You will need to make the service technician aware that you are participating in Coweta-Fayette EMC’s $witch/$ave Program so that he/she does not inadvertently disconnect the switch. Ask the technician to call Coweta-Fayette EMC for assistance and we will answer any question he/she may have and possibly deactivate the switch during the maintenance or replacement of the appliance. For convenience, a sticker is attached to the switch with the phone number to call.

Please let the new renter/owner know about the switch and that you are participating in the $witch/$ave Program. We will be glad to answer any question the new renter/owner may have about our program.