Energy

TOPEKA, Kansas (AP) - Governors in Kansas and Minnesota have committed their state governments to having more energy-efficient computer systems. They have made their states the first to join a computer industry initiative designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and conserve electricity. Minnesota Republican Tim Pawlenty and Kansas Democrat Kathleen Sebelius pledged to have their states purchase more efficient computers and servers. They also promised systemwide controls causing desktop computers to sleep each evening.

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) - Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is calling for a "clean break" from the Bush administration's energy policies, which she says relied too much on importing foreign oil. In a policy address Wednesday in Toledo, Ohio, Palin says the recent drop in oil and gas prices shouldn't prevent the development of alternative energy sources. The Alaska governor renewed her call for more drilling in U.S. coastal waters and said she and GOP presidential candidate John McCain would press for the construction of 45 new nuclear power plants by 2030.

A new state loan program can help you lower your energy bills. It's called Efficiency Kansas and it uses federal stimulus money to give you low interest loans to make upgrades to your home or business. "We think it's a good way for homeowners and entrepreneurs to upgrade housing and put it on the rental market or for small businesses that are in some of the small business buildings. It's a good program for all of them. " The State Energy Office will oversee the program.

The extreme temperatures are the topic of many discussions today. "I just can't believe it was 111 degrees yesterday. Good heavens," said one El Dorado resident. Even the energy companies are feeling heat. Officials at Butler Rural Electric say they have more outages during the summer than any other time of the year. Demand for energy is at its peak during summer, especially during certain hours. "Everyone comes home from work turns up the air, does the dishes and the laundry and that all causes spike for need in electricity," said the CEO of Butler Rural Electric, Dale Short.

Granted, Thursday's weather was a bit more bearable than Wednesday.      Westar Energy says more energy was used July 14 than any other day in 2010 - so far.  (As the summer goes on, that may change.)      More energy used by you means more money paid by you.  But it doesn't have to be that way.      Carole Ranney does a lot of things her mother did.  Like her mother, she makes jelly.  As Ranney puts it, "We've always just been kind of frugal in what we do. "      Unlike her mother, she makes it in a kitchen with air-conditioning.

WASHINGTON (AP) - President-elect Barack Obama intends to round out his environmental and natural resources team with a Nobel Prize-winning physicist and three former Environmental Protection Agency officials from the Clinton administration. The president-elect has selected Steven Chu for energy secretary, Lisa Jackson for EPA administrator, Carol Browner as his energy "czar" and Nancy Sutley to lead the White House Council on Environmental Quality, Democratic officials said Wednesday.

(WICHITA, Kan.) People brought their electric bills to complain about what they're paying now. So as state regulators gathered for public input for Westar's request for a rate increase, they knew what to expect. "I'm on a fixed income and every little bit they hit me, it's hurting," Westar customer Gary Rosiere says. Westar has nearly 700,000 customers in Kansas. The public hearing in Wichita followed hearings in Salina and Topeka earlier in the week. Nobody likes paying more, but the Kansas Corporation Commission considers what the rate hike is for and whether it's justified.

Westar Energy is warning customers about a scam that has hit several states. The scam claims the federal government is providing credits or applying payments to customers' utility bills. The scammers ask for personal information, like Social Security numbers, saying the information is needed to apply payments to customer's utility bills. Westar says when it makes collection calls, it does not ask for personal information, because that info is already in their records.

Small upgrades to your home can save you money on your next electric bill. But in this economy, officials at Westar Energy say people are skipping those projects. Federal stimulus money is trying to change that by creating a new loan program for home upgrades. All over your home are ways to save money on energy. They're often hard to see, unless you look through Shawn Patterson's eyes. "That's what I help people identify," he said. "What they can do cost effectively and what they need to hire someone to do or forego all together.

Days of triple digit temperatures are driving high energy use, and that means homeowners could be facing high electric bills. Westar Energy is bringing representatives to several of its service areas to help customers who may have trouble dealing with a large bill. Company officials say they are talking with customers about options like setting up an average payment plan, where customers pay a fixed average all year long, or a payment plan to deal with high or overdue bills.