By now you might know that LED bulbs can help save you money while they save you energy. But with rebates from POWER MOVES, you can save on the initial expense of the bulbs. And we aren’t talking pocket change here—we’re talking up to a whopping $3 per bulb.

Two co-ops that have shown impressive participation are Jay County REMC and Fulton County REMC, and we wanted to know why their members are so wild about the program. At Jay County REMC, we spoke to Cindy Denney, Director of Marketing & Customer Services. And at Fulton County REMC, we spoke to Member Services Director Greg Bitterling and CEO Joe Koch.

How do you use the POWER MOVES LED rebate for members?
Joe: Wabash Valley Power Association gives us a rebate of $7.50 per bulb, so what we do is purchase the LED bulbs and offer them to our members at $2.50 a piece. You can’t go anywhere and find LED bulbs at that price, and that includes sales tax and everything. We’ve sold over seven hundred so far.

How do members qualify to participate?
Joe: As long as they’re members, they can purchase up to 30 bulbs. And we’ve had people come in and buy all 30 at once.

Do members have to replace all their bulbs at once? If not, what’s the best way to get started?
Greg: It’s completely up to them. If they’re unsure, I tell them to replace the bulbs they use the most often. They’ll start to see savings that way, and it encourages them to work their way down to the rest of their bulbs.

Cindy: LEDs are still new for a lot of people, so members are sometimes cautious about it. We tell people to take the bulbs home and try them, and if they like them they can come back and get some more. And they always come back!

Joe: Once you’ve replaced the ones you use most often, I tell people to change out the ones that are a pain in the butt to get to. You want to use an LED in hard to reach spots because it’s going to last a long time.

If members purchase bulbs in a store instead of from a co-op office, what do they need to know?
Cindy: They have to be ENERGY STAR® qualified. If they aren’t, they won’t be eligible for a rebate. Members can find the application for the rebate online if they don’t want to drive out here to purchase the bulbs from us. Not every co-op offers instant rebates or sells bulbs from their offices, so it’s important for members to call and ask. But every member is entitled to the rebate on ENERGY STAR certified bulbs, and they can apply for it online through POWER MOVES.com.

How have members responded to the program?
Cindy: They love it. They love the fact that the rebate is instant. When you come to the REMC, you get instant gratification when you buy the bulb. We have members coming from 40 miles away to take advantage of it.

Greg: When we first started selling them, we ran out in two weeks. I started ordering them 300 at a time, and they keep moving. People love them, and they love saving money on the bulbs.

If anybody’s still on the fence about switching to LEDs and taking advantage of the rebate program, what would you say to convince them?
Greg: Do the math. If you’ve got an incandescent bulb, tell me how much you use it and I’ll tell you how much you can save.

Cindy: We let people compare the meter spins of LED lighting against incandescent. They can see for themselves we’re not just saving them energy; we’re saving them money.