Supervising Editor: Jonathan White Editor: Julie Richards 253.857.1526 Produced by: North Woods Graphics www.northwoods-graphics.com

w w w.penl ight.org Phone 253.857.5950

Peninsula Light Company NewsletterCommunity Calendar

SAY “GOOD-BYE” TO SURGES WITH OUR

RESIDENTIAL SURGE PROTECTION SYSTEM

WHOLE HOUSE SURGE ARRESTORS, installed at the meter base, are the critical first line of defense against damaging lightning and electrical power surges entering your home through the electric meter. As important as they are, however, whole house surge

protectors do not clamp voltage to a level low enough to

protect microprocessor-operated equipment, such as computers, which need HIGH QUALITY PLUG-IN POINT-OF-USE SURGE PROTECTORS. Every year, billions of dollars are lost because of power surges. Having professionally installed whole house surge protection products can increase the life of appliances and electronics by 30%.

We have a surge protection solution for your home!

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HOLIDAY CLOSURES: December 24 • Christmas Eve; December 31 • New Year’s Eve

• Know Your LED Lights

• Holiday Electrical Safety

• We’ve Got Your Surge Protection

• Nominate PenLight Candidates

If you have any upcoming events you would like considered for the Community Calendar,

please enter your event on the website at www.penlight.org under the quickLINKS Community Calendar.

Decjan

2010-2011

Many of you reading this Lights article have already signed up for the Electric Ambassador program. Thank you for your continued support in the fight to keep rates affordable! The grassroots program is celebrating its tenth year of cooperative members reaching out on behalf of the utility they own. During this time the electric industry has vastly changed, though our mission remains the same: keep power reliable and affordable in Washington State.

Jafar Taghavi, Peninsula Light Company CEO, with senior staff and your locally elected board members advocate on your behalf. The added power of having over 500 households standing behind them not only makes them more effective when meeting with elected officials, it also is a benefit to the lawmakers to hear from the people that they represent.

This past year, the economy and budget shortfalls have demanded

the attention of our lawmakers. The climate change bill that

you’ve been hearing about - what it is going to look like

and how much it is going to cost ratepayers - does not look like it

will pass out of the Congress this year. That doesn’t mean it will

go away. Additionally, it is likely that in 2011 the state legislature will be

looking at further mandates for conservation and energy efficiency.

[continued inside]

St. Anthony hoSpitAl AuxiliAry • FebruAry 5 2nd Annual Waterside Brunch/Auction at Anthony’s Restaurant in

Gig Harbor. Proceeds benefit the SAH Intensive Care Unit. For more information, call 253.428.8411.

ONGOING EVENTS & MEETINGS

CAtholiC Community ServiCeS Senior lunCh progrAm Meeting every Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday at the Jim and Carolyn Milgard family

HOPE center at noon, sign in at 11:30. Suggested donation $2.50. For more information and to make reservations, call 253.474.1200.

mAtthew’S meAlS – A plACe Set For everyoneFree dinner is served from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. the second Monday of every month at King

of Glory Lutheran Church. 6411 154th St NW, Gig Harbor, WA 98332. For more information, call 253.857.4574.

ChApel hill FitneSS ClASSeS Better health awaits you in one of Chapel Hill’s fun and stimulating fitness classes. Check out class

descriptions at www.chapelhill.org or call 253.853.0284.

rotAry oF gig hArbor north Meeting every Tuesday from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. in the Smalling Conference Room at St. Anthony Hospital. For more information, call 253.509.0065.

new neighborS gig hArbor/peninSulA Welcoming new members to all activities. For more information, visit www.gigharbornewneighbors.com or call 253.509.4029.

leAgue oF women voterS Meeting the third Saturday of each month at Border’s Books on Point Fosdick at 10:30 a.m. For more information, call 253.858.2530 or 253.851.2210.

AArp Driving CourSeDrivers over the age of 55 may qualify for lower auto insurance rates by taking the AARP Driver Safety Program. The 8-hour course is $12 for members and $14 for non-members. For more information, call 253.858.3393.

gig hArbor KiwAniS Helping children in our community. Meetings are held every Wednesday at 7:00 a.m. at Madrona Links Golf Course. For more information, visit www.gigharborkiwanis.com or call 253.691.7085.

giFteD hAnDS Meeting the second Monday of every month at the Peninsula Library on Pt. Fosdick from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Gifted Hands is a group of volunteer knitters, knitting hats and other

items for chemotherapy patients. For more information, email bmuggeridge@centurytel.net or call 253.265.6436.

4-HSchool age youth are encouraged to join 4-H. For more information, call

253.798.7160 or email tdd@wsu.edu.

AmbassadorsTO KEEP RATES AFFORDABLE!FIGHT

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INVOLVEDGET

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HIDDEN ACCOUNT NUMBERS

Every month five randomly chosen account numbers are hidden in Lights. If you spot yours, call Julie at 253.857.1526 and

you’ll receive a $50 credit in your next bill.

at 253.857.5950 or Toll Free 1.888.809.8021For More Information Call Member Services

–––Peninsula Light Company Newsletter

December 2010/january 2011

When considering holiday lighting options, think about both energy and purchase costs. You may find that LED (Light Emitting Diode) holiday lights are slightly more expensive to purchase, but you experience huge savings when the power bill rolls in. Here’s why – mini-lights use 10 times more energy than LED lights, and the larger incandescent lights use 100 times the energy of LED lights.

A string of 1,000 LED lights used for six hours a day costs only 50 cents per month. Alternately, the same number of mini-lights would cost $5, and C7’s would cost $50 a month in energy. Replacing standard incandescent holiday lights with LED lights can reduce energy use by more than 95 percent.

The Department of Energy says if all conventional incandescent holiday lights in the United States were replaced with LED lights, annual energy savings would total 2 billion kilowatt hours—enough to power almost 200,000 homes for an entire year.

The advantages of using LED holiday lights include:

Long life: They last up to 100,000 hours with indoor use.•

Safety and durability: Light is produced without heat; the bulbs •stay cool with virtually indestructible epoxy lenses.

No bulb replacement worries: LED bulbs last longer, and if one •does go out, the others stay lit.

Energy savings: LED lights are 99 percent more efficient than •traditional C7 lights.

AMBASSADORS FIGHT [continued from cover]

This is where you can step in and help by lending your voice to remind legislators how clean the energy we use is (over 96% is carbon-emissions free) and how PenLight has had conservation efforts in place for nearly three decades and continues to support programs that help members conserve energy and use it more efficiently.

In these challenging economic times, joining the Electric Ambassador program is one thing you can actively do to help keep power reliable and affordable. According to Ambassador Jim Pruitt, “What is good or bad for PenLight is probably good or bad for me. And I want my rates to stay as low as possible, so I don’t mind doing this type of thing.”

If you are not already signed up for the Electric Ambassador program, please consider joining. If you are, encourage your neighbors and friends to join you in the fight for affordable power. This is a free program offered through PenLight, and you are not obligated to participate in any way. We’ll keep you informed on current issues, and when something comes up, we’ll provide you with information so you can write a letter, place a call, or send an email if you choose.

To sign up online, go to www.electricambassadors.com/sign_up or call the PenLight office at 253.857.5950 and ask for Liz Loomis, Program Administrator.

CANDIDATESfor PenLight Board of Directors

The Nominating Committee of PenLight is accepting applications for board positions that will be voted on in March 2011. Application forms are available online at www.penlight.org or by calling Anita at 253.857.1504. Applicants must be permanent residents in PenLight’s

service territory, as well as members in good standing. Applications should be marked “Attention Nominating Committee” and must be received no later than noon on December 31,

2010.

Another form of running for PenLight’s Board is by petition, which requires approximately 900 signatures of members in good standing (3 percent of approximately 30,000 members). Petition information is also available by

calling the above number.

The Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI) is reminding those at home and in the workplace to keep electrical safety in mind when decorating for the holiday season:

• Before decorating, read and follow the manufacturers’ instructions concerning installation and maintenance of all decorative electrical products.

• Use lights and other electrical decorations certified by a recognized independent testing laboratory such as CSA, UL, or ETL.

• Outdoors, use lights and other electrical decorations certified for outdoor use.

• Carefully inspect each decoration before plugging into an outlet. Cracked, frayed, loose or bare wires, as well as loose connections may cause electrical shock or start a fire. Replace damaged items.

• Always unplug electrical decorations before replacing light bulbs or fuses.

• Do not mount or support light strings that might damage the cord’s insulation.

• Light strings with screw-in bulbs should have no more than 50 bulbs connected together.

• Do not overload extension cords – they can overheat and start a fire. Keep all outdoor extension cords and

light strings clear of snow and standing water.

• Never use electric lights on a metallic tree. The tree can become charged with electricity from faulty lights.

• Do not allow children or pets to play with electrical decorations. Even small light decorations can produce a fatal

shock if they are misused.

• Plug outdoor electric lights and decorations into circuits protected by ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs). Portable

GFCIs can be purchased wherever electrical supplies are sold.

• Never nail or staple light strings or extension cords.

• Do not connect more than three light string sets together.

• Turn off all electrical decorations before leaving home or going to bed.

Practicethis season

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HOLIDAY ELECTRICAL SAFETY

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