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New Energy Effeciency Program Offers Affordable Options In Western North Carolina

A new program is helping residents in the High Country make energy efficiency improvements in their homes. It covers seven Western North Carolina counties.

Blue Ridge Electric Co-op is now offering financing to its customers.  Participants can borrow up to $7,500 to make energy efficiency improvements and pay it off incrementally on their bill.

The money can be put toward insulation, air sealing, and heating and cooling system upgrades.

The program is available to homeowners, regardless of income, as long as they meet certain criteria. For example, a person must be an active member with Blue Ridge for two years. A home's potential energy savings and payment record will also be considered.

Amber Moodie-Dyer is with the advocacy group Appalachian Voices. She says many families can't afford the upfront costs, and programs like these go beyond energy savings.

“It creates jobs in communities, small rural communities that may be struggling economically,” says Dyer. “It creates jobs for contractors and businesses that provide weatherization energy efficiency upgrades and other types of HVAC services to homes.”

Dyer says more North Carolina energy co-ops have recently started similar programs in rural communities.

Blue Ridge Electric serves more than 74,000 customers.

*Follow WFDD's Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news

 

 

 

Keri Brown is a multi-award winning reporter and host at 88.5 WFDD. She has been honored with two regional Edward R. Murrow awards for her stories about coal ash, and was named the 2015 radio reporter of the year by the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas (RTDNAC).Although she covers a variety of topics, her beats are environmental and education reporting.Keri comes to the Triad from West Virginia Public Broadcasting, where she served as the Chief Bureau Reporter for the Northern Panhandle. She produced stories for the state's Public Television and Radio programs and was honored by the West Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters Association for her feature and enterprise reporting.She also served as an adjunct instructor at Wheeling Jesuit University and Bethany College in West Virginia. She worked with the Center for Educational Technologies in Wheeling, WV, and other NASA centers across the country to develop several stories about the use of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts in the classroom.Keri's journalism career began at WTRF-TV 7 in Wheeling. She worked in several roles at the station, including the head assignment editor. She also was a field producer and assignment manager at WPGH-TV Fox 53 in Pittsburgh.Keri is a graduate of Ohio University. When she's not in the studio or working on a story, she enjoys watching college football with her family, cooking, and traveling.Keri is always looking for another great story idea, so please share them with her. You can follow her on Twitter @kerib_news.

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