The Energy Savings for Appalachia program is expanding: Part 1

Announcing our new French Broad electric co-op campaign

Marshall, N.C., on the French Broad River

Appalachian Voices’ Energy Savings for Appalachia program is expanding in western North Carolina.

Throughout 2015, we engaged with communities surrounding our Boone, N.C., office about the widespread benefits of energy efficiency through our Energy Savings for Appalachia campaign. Now our local electric membership cooperative, Blue Ridge Electric, is offering the Energy SAVER Loan Program, an on-bill financing program for residential energy efficiency upgrades.

After achieving success in the North Carolina High Country, we are expanding our efforts to the service territories of the French Broad Electric Membership Corporation and Surry-Yadkin Electric Membership Corporation.

It is our goal to see all of the electric membership cooperatives (EMC) in Appalachia join other utilities in offering on-bill energy efficiency financing programs. On the coast, Roanoke EMC started up a distinguished program called Upgrade to $ave in 2015, but there are also more established, successful programs in eastern Kentucky and South Carolina. For Appalachian Voices, western North Carolina is our focus for building a movement around affordable energy efficiency for all.

Covering much of the French Broad River watershed, French Broad EMC provides electric service to more than 33,000 people across northern Buncombe, Madison, Yancey and Mitchell counties in North Carolina and part of Unicoi County in Tennessee. The region is rural and mountainous, bordered by the Appalachian Trail and famous for whitewater rafting and its high peaks.

We see great potential for an on-bill energy efficiency financing program here. French Broad EMC has been offering low-interest on-bill financing for mini-split electric heat pumps, a highly energy-efficient heating system, for the past two years. The success of this program has led to its continuance, which we see as a stable foundation for a larger, more encompassing energy efficiency financing program.

Download our French Broad EMC resource guide to learn more about public and private home energy services and assistance in Madison, Yancey and Mitchell counties.

Over the past few years we have developed strong connections with the kind, hardworking people who serve those in need in the area. We’ve also learned of the high demand for assistance with energy bills in the cold winter months among the area’s residents. In the three counties that make up most of French Broad EMC’s service territory, the median household income is approximately $10,000 less than the North Carolina average and $15,000 less than the national average. Additionally, half of all the housing units in this area are more than 30 years old.

There are thousands of homes and residents in need of energy efficiency improvements, and few programs available to most residents who cannot afford the upfront cost of those improvements. In other words, there exists a gap where many would be supported by an energy efficiency financing program provided by French Broad EMC.

To further Appalachian Voices’ advocacy and education around energy use, I am working on the ground in French Broad EMC’s service territory, generating public dialogue around energy efficiency by talking to the community about how to save money and energy. By helping those who struggle to pay their energy bills and keep their house warm, we hope to raise awareness about the need for a debt-free, on-bill energy efficiency financing program.

Do you know what energy efficiency options your utility offers? Visit the Energy Savings Action Center to find out! And if you are a French Broad EMC member, take action here or contact eliza@appvoices.org to learn about volunteer opportunities.

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About Eliza Laubach

Eliza Laubach hails from the Midwest though her heart was captured by the Blue Ridge Mountains. She worked with AV from 2014-2016, first as an AmeriCorps Outreach and Communications associate and then as an Energy Savings coordinator, communicating the benefits of energy efficiency to residents of WNC.