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Energy Efficiency May Soon Be Affordable for Everyone

Submitted by: Cherish Benton on Apr 27, 2010 at 9:20 pm Tagged with: electric cooperatives, energy audit, energy efficiency, save energy, Utilities Source: Benton Green Energy

Most homeowners would love to improve their energy efficiency, but often those who stand to benefit the most are the ones who can't afford it. Tax credits and rebates have made updating appliances and improving things like insulation more affordable, but many families simply can't afford the upfront costs. Fortunately, there's a program on the horizon that could make energy efficiency affordable for EVERYONE!

Governor Mark Sanford recently signed the SC Energy Efficiency Bill. It basically allows publicly-owned electric and gas cooperatives to provide low-interest loans to customers for energy efficiency improvements. The loan would be paid back through a 'meter conservation charge' that would show up separately on the customer's bill each month. Van O'Cain of the Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina says, "It's the loan that doesn't seem like a loan." The energy efficiency upgrades could lower the customer's utility bills and offset the cost of the improvements.

O'Cain says the SC Energy Efficiency Bill is only half the equation. Right now, Congress is debating the financing aspect of this and similar programs across the country. A recent press release from the ECSC says that, if passed, the legislation would establish a national Rural Energy Savings Program that could create as many as 40,000 jobs nationwide and provide $4.9 billion in federal funding for low-interest loans that could help as many as 1.6 million electric cooperative consumers make energy and money saving home improvements.

O'Cain says South Carolina stands to receive $750 million to fund its energy efficiency program. Right now, the legislation is being debated in the House and the Senate. O'Cain says, if passed, a state will be chosen to test a pilot program. He says South Carolina would love to be the first and we should know more by late summer.

Michael Couick, president and CEO of The Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina, is quoted as saying, "As Cooperatives, we are committed to making this program successful and to putting those federal dollars to good use. This program will work because the co-ops are on the hook for repayment of the federal loan regardless, and as consumer-owned utilities, our owners suffer if energy bills don't come down."

If you would like to learn more about energy efficiency, go to www.BentonGreenEnergy.com or you can email me directly at Cherish@BentonGreenEnergy.com.