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Feb 15 , 2010
Kudos to our customers who in 2009 saved enough electricity to power over 6,800 Inland Northwest homes for a year and enough natural gas to serve over 3,000 homes! These savings show that every little bit we do in our homes and businesses to save energy really do add up.
What did customers do to save so much energy last year? They looked for the Energy Star ® label when buying new appliances, installed high efficiency water heaters and furnaces, and upgraded windows and insulation to help keep their homes warm in winter and cool in summer.
For their efforts, customers qualified for rebates and incentives from Avista and reduced the amount of energy used in their homes. Commercial customers also received incentives for making energy efficiency improvements which helps manage their operating costs.
In total almost 35,000 rebates and incentives totaling about $18.1 million were given to residential, commercial, industrial and limited-income customers in 2009 through energy efficiency programs. But offering energy savings programs to customers is nothing new to us – we’ve been doing for more than 30 years.
To make sure we’re able to keep up with the increasing demand from customers for the popular energy efficiency programs, we filed requests today with the utility commissions in Washington and Idaho for modest increases in the natural gas tariffs which fund these programs. If approved by the utility commissions, residential natural gas customers in Washington will see a $2.54 increase in their bill starting March 15, and Idaho residential customers will see a $1.52 monthly increase.
This leads to the question – why do we help customers use less of our product? Because generally it costs less to help customers reduce their energy use than it would cost to build new power plants or purchase additional energy to meet customer demand. Plus, using less energy is the best option for our environment.
Feb 12 , 2010
Today we launch our first-ever podcast. I sat down with Avista’s Director of Energy Efficiency, Bruce Folsom to discuss our energy efficiency programs and the rebates and incentives that are becoming more and more popular every year.
Take a listen. (You will be directed to a blank web page, which may take a moment to load).
Dec 23 , 2009
I’ve heard this a few times since I started talking with customers online over the past year, “I’d love to be more energy efficient, but I don’t know where to start and how to pay for it.”
I think a lot of people are in the same boat. You know your windows are drafty and that your heating unit is on its last leg or that your insulation doesn’t exist – but how does all that, coupled with your energy usage and budget, get you to be more energy efficient?
It’s complicated stuff to be sure. But, if you’re an Avista customer in Spokane County, starting in 2010, we’ve got an uncomplicated solution for you.
Just today Avista announced we received $1 million of stimulus funding from the State of Washington Department of Commerce Credit Enhancement Program to establish a low-interest revolving loan fund to help customers make recommended energy efficiency improvements to their homes and small businesses. Partnering with Avista to establish the revolving loan fund is Sustainable Local Investments Partners (SLIP), who will provide administrative services, process facilitation and outcome reporting.
This program is unlike some of the stimulus-funded programs awarded recently to Avista and other utilities across the country. When most stimulus funds are spent, they are gone for good. Not this program; it’s set up to be around a while and as customers repay loans, the money is returned, allowing for further investment by other customers.
Interested customers will start with a commercial energy audit currently offered by Avista or in a new home audit program which the company will launch early 2010. The City of Spokane, City of Spokane Valley and Spokane County are partners in the audit program. Avista is matching nearly $700,000 pledged by the governments to help offset a portion of the costs to you. The audits will provide you with an analysis of ways to make your home more energy efficient and will alert you to Avista rebates and federal energy tax credits for which you may qualify.
We’ll have more on the revolving loan and energy audit programs in early 2010 when all the details and processes are established.
Oct 20 , 2009
Any business owner knows that the cost of energy is a significant part of a monthly budget. Thankfully we just announced some new energy efficiency rebates for commercial customers that might just help trim that budget line item.
Oregon commercial customers can now receive rebates from $200 to $3,000 installing ENERGY STAR commercial kitchen equipment and dishwashers or for installing high efficiency natural gas furnaces. New incentives are also available for commercial insulation measures and refrigeration night curtains. In addition, Avista offers rebates and incentives for site-specific energy efficiency improvements made to commercial operations such as businesses, schools, and public facilities.
What’s cool about these new rebates is that Oregon customers already understand the value of energy efficiency. Just last year residential, commercial and industrial Avista customers in the state received more than 3,300 rebates and incentives totaling $850,000. Through the programs, customers reduced their energy use by over 287,000 therms of natural gas – that’s about the amount of natural gas used by almost 475 residential customers in one year. That’s good stuff.
Commercial and residential customers can find more information about energy efficiency rebates at www.everylittlebit.com. Aug 20 , 2009
Today we announced we’re working to launch two new efforts centered on energy efficiency. One proposal concerns energy efficiency audits for residential and small business customers. The other is a revolving loan fund for energy efficiency projects.
These proposals work in tandem. Part one offers customers an in-home and in-business energy audits done by a certified energy auditor. The second part involves a revolving, low-interest loan fund to complement Avista’s energy efficiency incentives and federal tax credits, as a means to finance recommended energy efficiency upgrades. For now, we’re calling these proposals the energy efficiency audit and financing project.
The low-interest loan project was submitted to the State of Washington as part of the State Energy Program funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The loan program would be administered by the Sustainable Local Investment Partnership (SLIP), a non-profit partnership of area credit unions and banks. Avista would not receive dollars from the grant.
The energy efficiency audit program is a partnership between Avista, Spokane County and the cities of Spokane and Spokane Valley. The partnership will support the training and deployment of certified energy efficiency auditors to homes and small-businesses served by Avista. The government contributions would be matched by Avista dollar-for-dollar.
We expect to hear back from the State of Washington in September. So watch this blog for more information as it becomes available.
Aug 03 , 2009
On Friday I received an e-mail from Robert, an Avista customer, who asked this: “We are putting new windows in our home and we are wondering if there is rebate/rate benefits for certain type windows. If so what do we do?”
Answer: We make it pretty easy to find what rebates are available for you on our website www.everylittlebit.com. Just click on the House of Rebates. You’ll see a graphic of a house with little red circles on it. Click on the circles – the one for windows is on the front window of the house – to get details on rebates on that area of your home. Rebates and incentives are listed by state, so make sure you’re looking at the appropriate one.
It’s a good idea to check out the rebate forms before you make a purchase. We have certain standards for efficiency for just about everything. You wouldn’t want to buy an item expecting a rebate, only to find out it doesn’t qualify for the program. Make sure to save your receipts too, as you’ll need them when you send in your rebate form.
Some professional contractors or retail stores may have the rebate details concerning their products, but just to be safe, do your homework on www.everylittlebit.com first to be an informed shopper to get the best deal.
Good luck and happy, efficient shopping.
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