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Ohio rural residents will benefit from an effort of farmers, homeowners, government and industry leaders who have been working together to reduce energy costs. Several workshops giving information on how to cut energy costs have been organized using information gathered during an extensive energy-use study in Montgomery County.

The series, called Neighborhood Energy Efficiency Workshops, is sponsored by the Ohio Farm Bureau and the Montgomery County Farm Bureau. The Energy Efficiency Working Group, an organization of Dayton area leaders and service groups that worked with Dayton Power & Light to establish research and educational grants as part of the utility's deregulation transition plan, supports the project.

Working closely with the Farm Bureau to develop the workshops were DPL Energy Resources, the National Food and Energy Council, Montgomery County Public Works Department and the Ohio Department of Development.

• Load Profiling and Refitting will help homeowners and farmers discover how changing energy load patterns, using Energy Star rated equipment and performing cost-effective infrastructure refits impact energy costs. The early August program will be held on a farm used in the program's load profiling and data analysis project and features a pork barbecue.

• Electric deregulation is coming – are you prepared? Consumers involved in the Ohio Electric Choice: Impact on Rural Consumers workshop will explore how to "shop" for alternative energy supplies under electric deregulation. The session is scheduled for September.

• How can Alternative Electric Generation Technologies help the bottom line? Using load profiling project data, consumers will explore how these technologies could impact energy costs. The session is scheduled for after the 2003 harvest.

• What does your electric bill look like? Interpreting electric bill rate information and applying data to proven energy efficiency strategies can reduce costs. A Rate Structure and Rural Energy Workshop will be held in January 2004. Consumers will explore strategies and look at low-interest linked deposit loans and other energy efficiency improvement funding.
• Montgomery County Rural Energy Summit, complete with workshops and a trade show, is scheduled for March 2004.

For information on these programs, call 614-246-8294 or e-mail darnold@ofbf.org.