Imagine 282,000 homes — ranches, split-levels, colonials, even mansions. Houses as far as the eye can see.

Now imagine all those homes going completely off the grid for a year — not using any electricity. Not running the dishwasher. Not baking a single cake. Not turning on the TV to watch the Phillies or Eagles game.

That would be a pretty remarkable energy savings, wouldn’t you think?

Many people don’t know it, but that level of savings is actually happening every year in central and eastern Pennsylvania.

A quarter-million homes aren’t literally unplugging from the grid. But the homes and businesses in PPL Electric Utilities’ service area have reduced their energy use by more than 2.7 billion kilowatt-hours per year over the past seven-and-a-half years. That’s the same savings you’d get if about 282,000 houses didn’t use any power at all.

In case you’re wondering, that reduction in energy use translates to a financial savings of almost $300 million per year, based on 10 cents per kilowatt-hour. That’s a pretty remarkable number as well.

Another noteworthy thing: At PPL Electric Utilities, we support the fact that people are using less electricity. In fact, we applaud it.

That comes as a surprise to some people too. After all, we’re in the business of delivering electricity. But, we recognize that using less energy is good for your wallet and good for the environment.

In fact, those 2.7 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity that people aren’t using each year are being saved through energy efficiency programs offered by PPL.

This includes rebates for heating and air conditioning equipment, insulation, smart thermostats, appliances, business lighting, business refrigeration equipment, food service equipment, compressed air systems, discounted LED bulbs we make available through retailers, and more.

Another example: We’ll haul away your old refrigerator for free and pay you $35, to make it easier for you to upgrade to a more energy-efficient appliance. (Some conditions apply: For instance, the fridge has to still work. Specific info on fridge recycling is available at pplelectricsavings.com/appliance/recycling.)

Full information on our residential efficiency programs can be found at pplelectric.com/savings, while programs for businesses are detailed at pplelectric.com/businessrebates.

If you’re among those helping to make a difference in energy use, we congratulate you. It makes sense to save.

If you haven’t really thought about energy efficiency, now’s a great time to start. It doesn’t take a major investment to make your savings start to add up.

That 2.7 billion kilowatt-hours of saved energy per year is a pretty impressive number. But it’s really just a start.