Camp Lejeune Marines told conserve energy or pay for it

Some Marine families may have to pay electric bills
By AMANDA WILCOX
The Daily News, Jacksonville, N.C.
Published: July 1, 2012

Thursday’s town hall meeting on Camp Lejeune left some military families worried about utility bills for the first time in their adult lives.

On-base housing residents will now be held responsible for their energy consumption and will be receiving electric bills within the next year as part of a new residential energy conservation program being implemented by Headquarters Marine Corps and Marine Corps Installation Command at all Marine installations.

“A lot of families have never had to pay electricity bills,” said Dixie Johnson, marketing manager with Atlantic Marine Corps Community Housing. “If they’ve always lived on a military installation they’ve never had to worry about that ... and it’s a concern for them.”

Navy Capt. Craig Fulton came to the town hall meeting from Headquarters Marine Corps to talk to Lejeune residents about the new changes. He said the Department of Defense is implementing the conservation program because research has found that military families on base use far more electricity than their civilian counterparts.

As a result, the DoD will start sending out bills in October to families who use more energy on average than their neighbors and reward those who use less.

“You could, the word is could, be charged for the utilities that you use,” Camp Lejeune Base Sgt. Maj. Ernest Hoopii said. “If you’re below the average usage of a house of a particular size, then you’ll make money... but if you go over that threshold, you’re going to be charged.”
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