June 29 Webinar to Showcase Energy Efficiency Programs EESI is Helping Launch

The American Public Power Association (APPA) will host a webinar examining two energy efficiency programs that have received extensive technical assistance from EESI. The municipal utilities of Bloomfield, Iowa, and Holland, Michigan, asked EESI to help them set up programs that would allow their residents to reduce their energy usage, cut their energy bills, and improve their home comfort—all with no upfront costs. This is accomplished through on-bill financing: the utility pays for the home energy upgrades, and is repaid through a monthly charge on the utility bill. In most cases, the home upgrades can be designed so that the energy savings outweigh the loan payments, resulting in lower monthly bills. The Holland program will also offer loans for distributed generation systems, such as residential solar or geothermal installations.

Representatives from Bloomfield and Holland will describe their on-bill financing programs, explain how they were set up and funded, and show how they fit into their communities' broader energy goals. They will also discuss what they learned from other public utilities that have on-bill financing programs (at least 15 throughout eight states), and what innovations they are bringing to the table.

EESI's on-bill financing initiative has become a national effort to significantly improve the energy efficiency of homes served by rural electric cooperatives and public power utilities. EESI has assembled a team that is helping such utilities investigate, design, implement, and evaluate residential on-bill financing programs. EESI’s on-bill financing work is grant-funded, so its program-related assistance to cooperatives, public utilities and related stakeholders is free of charge.