New Bill in South Carolina Would Make Homes More Efficient

A new bill approved by a South Carolina Senate panel last week would help hundreds of thousands of state residents weatherproof their homes and upgrade their heating and air-conditioning units while paying for these improvements through energy savings.

According to the bill, the state's 20 electric cooperatives would lend money for these retrofits. Customers would repay the loan at a low interest rate through monthly payments on their utility bills.

This way, the cost of the retrofit is tied to the actual home – not the resident – and carried over to the next owner or tenant.  

The billl would help promote energy efficiency among South Carolina residents, who, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, have a high rate of electricity consumption per capita compared to the rest of the country. 

Says Executive Director of the Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance Ben Taube,"This legislation in South Carolina will have enormous impacts on the energy efficiency sector in the state.  The loans being proposed are an excellent model to make the homes in South Carolina more efficient as well as providing an affordable funding mechanism."  He adds that "the success of this legislation will provide a model for other states to emulate as well as provide a utility model for residential deployment of energy efficiency programs and practices."

Read the full Associated Press article online.