New TEP Program Helps Limited-Income Customers Save with Smart Thermostats

TUCSON, Ariz.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Tucson Electric Power (TEP) is working with local apartment complexes to
help limited-income customers save energy and reduce their monthly
utility costs by using advanced programmable thermostats.

TEP is providing nearly 1,800 Nest Learning Thermostats to local
apartment complexes that participate in the U.S. Department of Housing
and Urban Development’s Housing Choice Voucher Program. The thermostats
will be installed at no cost to residents, who also will receive energy
efficient light bulbs, educational materials with energy-saving
strategies and detailed thermostat instructions.

Nest thermostat users can save an average of 15 percent on cooling bills
and 10-12 percent on heating bills annually, according to the
manufacturer. The thermostats can “learn” customer temperature
preferences in about a week and automatically adjust to help save
energy. Nest thermostats can offer suggestions to help users reduce
energy usage and can be adjusted remotely using a smartphone, tablet or
laptop in homes with a Wi-Fi connection.

The thermostats will be installed through a pilot program included among
TEP’s energy efficiency (EE) offerings for residential and commercial
customers in 2016. TEP’s customer-funded EE programs are reviewed and
approved by the Arizona Corporation Commission. The programs have been
proven to be cost-effective for all customers – not just those who
participate – by reducing our community’s long-term need for new energy
resources. A complete list of current programs is available at tep.com/efficiency.

TEP’s EE programs have produced significant environmental benefits by
helping customers to save enough energy to power nearly 82,000 homes for
a year. These savings help TEP work toward the goals in Arizona’s Energy
Efficiency Standard, which calls on utilities to achieve cumulative
energy savings of 22 percent by 2020. Participation helps to reduce our
reliance on fossil fuels, resulting in reduced air emissions and water
usage.

TEP provides safe, reliable electric service to approximately 417,000
customers in southern Arizona. To learn more, visit tep.com.
TEP, UES and their parent company, UNS Energy, are subsidiaries of
Fortis Inc., which owns utilities that serve more than 3 million
customers across Canada and in the United States and the Caribbean. To
learn more, visit fortisinc.com.

Contacts

Tucson Electric Power
Joseph Barrios, 520-884-3725
jbarrios@tep.com