People in California, Illinois and Washington are already doing it.
Now, some Minnesotans are doing it too.

They are looking to save energy by comparing their usage with their neighbors'.

Range reporter Boua Xiong takes a look at this new program.

Meet Jim and Jan. They live in a 3-bedroom home in Cherry.

Now, meet Erika. She also lives in a 3-bedroom home, but in the city of Orr.

Jim and Jan live more than half an hour away from Erika.

But a new energy efficiency program is bringing them closer, one report at a time.

Earlier this month Lake Country Power Co-op started their Home Energy Reports pilot project.

Ten-thousand randomly selected co-op members received a kind-of- report-card that shows how much energy they use compared to neighbors.

The goal is to get people to use less energy by showing them how they are doing compared to others.

Member service director Mike Birkeland says this is different from other programs.

"We're using technology to try and really create behavioral change and create more awareness of how much each of us uses in terms of electricity."

Jim and Jan got their report.

And it says compared to their neighbors, they're great at being energy efficient.

Their report shows that in November, after they got ride of their satellite tv and got rid of their land line, they used less energy.

They say they didn't realize getting rid of those things would have such an impact.

" The energy difference was actually a bigger surprise. I didn't think it would be that much of a change."

All the way in Orr, Erika is doing good compared to her neighbors.

"My husband is very..he's pays attention to the lights and getting them off all the time and if we're watching a movie he doesn't want me to be on the computer at the same time so we shut that down. We just don't use that much things at a time."

For those who don't do so well on the report, the program also provides tips on how to reduce energy. But at the end of the day, the success of the program depends on choice.

"It's up to consumers to make the choice as to whether or not they want to try to conserve energy or not. We're just trying to provide a tool, trying to provide information and tips."

"We'll try to pay attention to some more things and unplug some of the stuff once in a while and see if that makes a bigger difference."

The next home energy reports comes out in August and all the folks we spoke to hope their energy usage goes down.

The benefits of the program are two-fold.

Lake Country Power says they are trying to help members save money by being more aware of their usage and also trying to meet state utility goals for energy savings.