Since January 1, 2011, the City of Thomasville’s On-Bill financing program has achieved great success by boosting spending power to qualified Thomasville Utilities customers and putting money into the local economy.
The On-Bill financing program began as a $200,000 venture into 0 percent financing for the City of Thomasville. It has since developed into over a million and a half dollar increase to the local community’s spending power, giving many customers the means to go forward with plans to make efficiency upgrades to their homes.
“Since the program’s inception, we have distributed 368 loans to our customers,” said Director of Customer Service Karis Mills. “This means that we have enabled our citizens to pump $1,588,847 dollars into the community during the five years the program has been active.”
On-Bill Financing allows qualifying customers of the City of Thomasville to purchase and install energy efficient home upgrades such as approved ENERGY STAR appliances:
• Refrigerators and Freezers
• Clothes Washers
• Dishwashers
• Water Heaters& Natural Gas Furnaces
• Qualified Central Heating & A/C Equipment
• Home Weatherization Services (such as installation of insulation, air sealing and caulking, and duct sealing and insulation)
The On-Bill financing program is funded by the Department of Energy through the Georgia Environmental Finances Authority. This program is designed to improve energy efficiency in the State of Georgia by providing low-cost funding to residential homeowners for the purchase and installation of energy efficient equipment and home envelope energy efficiency improvements. The City of Thomasville serves as the lender and collects loan payments through its customers’ monthly utility bills.
Mills said that the program, depending on the type of upgrades being made, in many cases pays for itself through savings.
“The best thing about the program is that customers almost immediately begin to experience an offset in project costs through their utility bill due to energy savings,” she added.
Call 229-227-7001 for more information about the On-Bill Financing Program.