Ken Thomas woke up this past Wednesday to find the power had gone out at his house in Boca Raton. A text message from his utility said a piece of equipment had failed at 2 a.m. By the time a repair crew showed up eight hours later, the hot, sticky Florida summer was already taking a toll.
“You just don’t realize how important your power is until you don’t have it,” says Thomas, a retired air traffic controller. “In Florida’s heat, you just can’t live without air conditioning. And this time of year particularly.”
Thomas has invested in energy-saving windows and insulation to keep his house comfortable. But in the heat of the summer, his power bills still top $400 a month…