GM seeks to cut energy bills

DETROIT, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- General Motors Corp., hoping to save millions on energy bills, is asking U.S. plants to turn down the heat this winter and cut other energy costs.

With help from the United Auto Workers union, the world's largest auto company by production volume is trying to get workers to turn off lights and computers, alert managers to window leaks and other energy inefficiencies and make small changes that can amount to big savings, The Detroit News reported.

The small changes include determining if different types of light bulbs are more efficient.

And while Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC have similar programs, GM's massive operations, with more than 60 factories in the United States alone, mean even small changes can save millions of dollars, the newspaper said.

GM's North American operations use about 70 gigawatt-hours -- or 70 thousand-million hours -- of energy a year, powered primarily from gas, electricity and coal, the newspaper said.

That's roughly equivalent to the power needed for 10,000 average-size homes.

GM Global Director of Energy and Utility Services Tom Neelands said the automaker's energy use is down 27 percent since 2002 -- with only 7 percent from shuttered factories.