SC law could make retrofitting homes easier

By SEANNA ADCOX

COLUMBIA, S.C.

South Carolina residents could make their homes more energy-efficient and lower their utility bills without putting any money down, under a loan program signed into law Wednesday.

Gov. Mark Sanford praised it as a measure that will extend home energy conservation to rural parts of the state.

The idea of financing the cost of retrofitting homes and making repayment a part of monthly utility bills was pushed by the state's 20 electric cooperatives.

Utilities plan to lend money for updates like new heating and cooling units and better insulation. Customers would repay the loan at a low interest rate. The monthly payment built into utility bills would be tied to the home, not the resident, so the responsibility would transfer to whoever lives there.

The loans could be offered starting later this year. The cooperatives are awaiting federal legislation that would provide the funding.

They hope to lend $750 million to retrofit 225,000 homes over 10 years. That would save the equivalent in energy to half of a nuclear power unit, said Michael Couick, CEO of The Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina, which provide electricity for one-third of the state's population.

He said the measure is meant to overcome the two biggest reasons people don't upgrade their homes: They're not sure what to do, and they can't afford it.

The co-ops' plan allows more people to benefit than current programs which require a customer to qualify and tie the loan directly to the homeowner. The new plan would allow renters and owners of older mobile homes to benefit.

"This is super good legislation," said Sen. Paul Campbell, R-Goose Creek. "We've got folks in South Carolina who spend more on utilities in the dead of summer or winter than on their mortgage."

Frances Sanders teared up after Sanford signed the bill.

The 64-year-old Gaffney resident said she's excited about the prospect of having new windows installed in her 45-year-old home. It's so bad now, she said, ice forms on the inside of her windows during the winter.

Though she lives alone in a home that's just 650 square feet, her utility bill averages nearly $280 monthly -- gobbling up more than a third of her pension.

Under the proposal, a certified energy auditor would determine how to best conserve energy at a home, and whether the estimated long-term savings are worth the cost of improvements. The default rate is expected to be minuscule, since people tend to put a priority on paying their utility bills to keep their electricity on.

Under the co-ops' plan, two-thirds of the estimated savings would go toward repaying the loan. For example, if the drop in energy use results in a $100 monthly savings, $66 would go toward satisfying the debt, and the bill is still about $33 less than it would have been without the improvements.

The measure allows, but doesn't require, every utility in the state to offer its customers something similar.