MERRILLVILLE — NIPSCO announced Tuesday, Feb. 9, a lineup of newly available and popular energy efficiency programs to help customers save energy and manage their bills.

“Customers want the ability to save energy and money each month, and these programs make it easy to do that,” said Violet Sistovaris, NIPSCO executive vice president. “We encourage all of our customers to take advantage of these simple and effective options.”

Homes, businesses, schools and nonprofit organizations now have several opportunities to become more energy efficient. The 2016 lineup will feature new programs such as the refrigerator replacement program for income-qualified customers, the return of the popular appliance recycling program and the continuation of rebates on energy-efficient appliances and equipment.

• The rebates for energy-efficient appliances and equipment program offers rebate checks to NIPSCO natural gas and electric customers who purchase and install qualified, energy-efficient products, ranging from $50 for “smart,” wi-fi thermostats to $500 for geothermal heat pumps.
• The cash for old refrigerators and freezers program offers a $50 incentive check to electric customers who recycle an old, working refrigerator and/or freezer that is not needed.
• Under the free home energy assessment program, an energy advisor will analyze a customer’s energy use and may install energy-saving measures to help improve the efficiency and comfort of the home.
  
• With the lighting discounts program, customers can receive instant lighting discounts on Energy Star–qualified LED and CFL lighting at participating retailers.
  
• The energy efficiency education program is designed to deliver cost-effective gas and electric savings by influencing fifth-grade students and their families to focus on conservation and the efficient use of electricity and natural gas.
  
• Home weatherization for income-qualified customers helps low-income families and individuals decrease home energy costs and become more attentive to energy related health and safety issues in the home through the installation of several energy efficiency measures.
  
• My Energy Scorecard is coming soon. This is a new, personalized, online and interactive energy report that shows how the home uses energy, how weather drove energy use the previous month and energy use compared to similar-sized homes in the area.
  
• Refrigerator replacement for income-qualified customers provides qualified customers with the replacement of an inefficient refrigerator with a new Energy Star refrigerator at no cost to the customer.

NIPSCO also offers the following commercial, industrial and non-profit energy savings programs:

• Cash incentives for efficient improvements offers standard and custom incentives to customers who are making electric and natural gas energy efficiency improvements by retrofitting equipment in existing buildings.
• Energy savings for small businesses provides energy-saving opportunities and assistance to existing small business facilities to maximize their energy savings and minimize their out-of-pocket costs.
• Facility optimization is designed to help customers determine the energy performance of their facilities in order to identify energy savings opportunities through optimization of their existing systems.
• Incentives for new construction offers incentives to encourage building owners, designers and architects to exceed standard building practices and achieve energy efficiency above and beyond the current building code requirements.

The goal of this program is to produce new buildings and building expansions that are efficient from the start. For more detailed information and program qualifications on any one of NIPSCO’s energy savings programs, click here.