Ouachita Electric approved for program to finance customer efficiency upgrades
by February 15, 2016 11:35 am 92 views
The Arkansas Public Service Commission (APSC) has approved an optional tariff for Ouachita Electric Cooperative that allows the utility to invest in energy efficiency upgrades for members, like insulation and heat pumps, while recovering costs on the bill with a charge that is less than the estimated savings.
According to Ouachita Electric, cooperative members receive upgrades that can lower bills with no up-front costs or personal debt. Renters also qualify as cost recovery is associated with the utility’s meter at the property, rather than the individual. Ouachita Electric has offered its members loans for energy efficiency upgrades, and discovered that renters and families with limited capacity to take on debt were not benefiting.
“As a member cooperative, we want to make sure opportunities for energy savings are open to all members,” Mark Cayce, general manager of Ouachita Electric, said in a statement. “Now, we are able to reach even more members with investments that are also strengthening our financial position. We are going to see this take off around the state and look back on this as a watershed moment.”
The tariff approved for Ouachita Electric is called Pay As You Save (PAYS), which is also the name of the system upon which it is based, as licensed from Energy Efficiency Institute, Inc. Cooperatives in Kansas, Kentucky and North Carolina also offer programs based on the Pay As You Save system, and have reported achieving average energy savings of 25 percent for participants.
The APSC approval cleared the way for other Arkansas electric cooperatives to follow suit with similar filings. Collectively, the 17 electric cooperatives in Arkansas distribute energy to more than 500,000 members.
More than 90% of the country’s persistent poverty counties are served by electric cooperatives, according to Ouachita Electric. The Camden-based cooperative serves Calhoun County, which is among the 252 most distressed areas of the country in the Mississippi River Delta Region. Calhoun County is a semifinalist for the $5 million Georgetown University Energy Prize for communities leading the way on energy efficiency.
Ouachita Electric Cooperative has approximately 9,419 members in Bradley, Calhoun, Dallas, Nevada and Ouachita counties. Incorporated in 1939, the cooperative is based in Camden with a district office in Hampton. The locally owned and managed organization has 38 employees.