Last Updated on 5/30/2012

Published on 2/3/2012

The new electric rate plan passed this week by Georgetown City Council is expected to take the sticker shock out of the bills that included fuel adjustments.
The city is also putting together a program that could help residents save by pinpointing places in their homes causing electric waste.
The new weatherization program, which was approved by council in October, is still in the formation stages. But, City Administrator Chris Eldridge said the program should be up and running by summer.
City leaders are working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Sustainability Institute of Charleston to provide the home weatherization services.
“We are in the process of applying for a grant,” Eldridge said. “We have found out we are eligible.”
Once the program is in place, city residents can request a licensed contractor to come to their homes to find places where outside air may be seeping in or the heating and air conditioning may be escaping.
Recommendations will be made about how to fix the problem. If the resident chooses to do so, the city will pay to have the problems corrected through a zero-interest loan to the resident.
That money will be repaid as a monthly addition to the resident’s electric bill.
“It is a good tool to help customers cut costs by performing an energy audit,” Eldridge said.
While the loan would add an expense to the resident’s bill, in many cases it would be offset by the savings from the decrease in electric usage, Eldridge said.
He calls it a “cutting edge” program that helps address the root problem of higher-than-necessary power bills. He said once a home is weatherized, the residents could see a savings of up to 40 percent on the cost of electricity.

By Scott Harper
sharper@gtowntimes.com