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EarthShare Readers Pick EESI On-Bill Finance Story as 2013 Favorite

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January 24, 2014

Technician Buddy De Lozier (right) inspects a new heat pump (credit: Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina)

The readers of EarthShare , a national non-profit federation that supports leading environmental and conservation charities, have selected EESI's work on energy retrofits using on-bill financing, a pilot project known as "Help My House " as one of their top stories of 2013 . EarthShare asked its fans to pick a favorite post from 2013, and then compiled their top choices. The story, "Making Energy Retrofits Affordable," was the fourth most popular, out of 59 total articles posted over the year.

"Help My House" is certainly a popular program! The South Carolina pilot illustrates how helping households become more energy efficient can have all sorts of benefits. Launched in 2011 by South Carolina’s co-ops, with policy and technical assistance from EESI, "Help My House" provides low-interest loans to homeowners who want an energy retrofit. The payback is impressive: the average participating home has saved 34 percent in energy costs and is expected to save a net of more than $8,500 over 15 years.

"Help My House" shows that retrofits make a lot of sense, but financing is an important obstacle. "Help My House" uses on-bill financing to get around the financing barrier. Rather than taking out a loan from a bank, participants pay back the cost of the retrofits through their electric bills. EESI is now working to make on-bill financing more widely available in South Carolina and across the country. In December 2013, the Department of Agriculture launched a new Energy Efficiency and Conservation Loan Program (EECLP) that provides an initial $250 million per year in federal loans and financial assistance to support energy efficiency programs operated by rural electric cooperatives and other rural utilities.

EarthShare showcased the "Help My House" program because its readers like to hear about innovative ways to improve the environment --and because EESI is one of its 500 member organizations. In fact, EESI is proud to have been a founding member of EarthShare, back in 1988. EarthShare was born out of efforts to increase support for environmental and conservation organizations, primarily through workplace giving programs. It has raised more than $300 million for programs that care for our climate, air, land, water, wildlife and public health.

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