SCE&G prepares customers for winter heating season during Energy Awareness Month

October 2, 2008

COLUMBIA, SC – October 2, 2008 – In anticipation of the approaching winter season that may challenge many people to heat their homes comfortably and efficiently, South Carolina Electric and Gas Company (SCE&G) will observe Energy Awareness Month throughout October.

The month-long observance will feature several programs with an emphasis on using energy efficiently and developing renewable energy resources:

• Project SHARE. SCE&G encourages customers and employees to make this winter warmer by contributing to Project SHARE, a financial assistance program provided through local community action agencies to help families in need. With a matching contribution from SCE&G, even one dollar a month will go a long way toward helping a family. One hundred percent of the money will help people in need.
• Weatherization. SCE&G employees will help low-income customers in Aiken and Columbia heat their homes more efficiently and lower their heating bills by weatherizing their homes. SCE&G collaborates with the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity and community action agencies to provide this service to customers in need.
• PaCE. Through Palmetto Clean Energy (PaCE), SCE&G customers have a unique opportunity to protect the environment by purchasing blocks of 100 kilowatt hours of electricity for just $4 each. When you contribute to PaCE, you can help support the development of renewable energy and help add more renewable energy resources to the state’s power supply for a greener South Carolina.
• Plug-in hybrid. SCE&G’s green initiatives include a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. This environmentally friendly car can be supported with existing generating plants by charging the battery at off-peak times. Capable of averaging 100 miles per gallon, it can reduce emissions up to 60 percent.

Energy Awareness Month began in 1981 as American Energy Week, growing into the current one-month observance at the U.S. Department of Energy in 1986. President George Bush proclaimed October Energy Awareness Month in 1991.


South Carolina Electric & Gas Company is a regulated public utility that provides natural gas service to approximately 305,000 customers in 38 counties in South Carolina. The company also is engaged in the generation, transmission, distribution and sale of electricity to approximately 646,000 customers in 24 counties in the central, southern and southwestern portions of the state.