The country has saved 4.5 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, equivalent to the amount generated by a power plant for a whole year, since a rate discount program was introduced in July 2008 by Taiwan Power Co., Chen Kuei-ming, chairman of the state-run company said Wednesday. The reduction in electricity consumption has also cut the country's carbon dioxide emissions by 2.88 million tons, which is equivalent to the volume of CO2 that would be absorbed by a 201,893-hectare wooded park, Chen said. This resulted in savings of about NT$6.4 billion in electricity bills, he added. In view of the considerable success of the program in conserving energy, the company has decided to increase the the maximum discount rate to 30 percent with effect from July this year, Chen said. Under the extended program, households that reduce their monthly power usage by 10 percent or more this year, compared to last year, will be eligible to a discount of up to 30-percent, while those that reduce usage by 5-10 percent can get a 20 percent discount, and those that cut back by 5 percent can get a 10 percent discount. In addition to residential users and elementary and junior high schools that already enjoy the discounts, public community facilities will also be eligible to rate reductions starting this year, and can save as much as 20 percent on their electricity bills, according to Chen. Also on Wednesday, the company assigned three service teams to northern, central and southern Taiwan to offer tips to people in 360 communities on how to save energy. The experts will give advice to households on the ways of cutting power consumption, with the aim of helping to reduce global warming. With household electricity accounting for 22 percent of the country's total of power consumption, the company has a duty to help people learn energy conservation habits, Chen said. 