Education

Alabama Electric Cooperatives Rank Last in New Regional Scorecard

Blog, Concerned Citizen, Education, News + Media, Policy and Advocacy / By / January 24, 2023

If you haven’t heard, Energy Alabama has released an updated scorecard evaluating the performance of Alabama’s rural electric cooperatives in areas such as democratic governance, member services, and access to clean energy, to name a few. Energy Alabama represents one of seven southeastern states that are a part of Energy Democracy Y’all, an ongoing collaboration …

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Energy Efficient Light Bulbs 101 – At Home

5 Comments / Blog, Consumer, Education / By / August 2, 2021

Confused by which light bulb to buy? We’ve put together a short primer to (ahem!) “shine some light” on the topic for you. Here’s the key thing to know about light bulbs. If you buy junk, you’ll get junk.  Quick facts: It used to be that wattage of the bulb determined what you needed to …

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What Does a Public Service Commission Do, Anyway?

Leave a Comment / Blog, Concerned Citizen, Consumer, Education, Policy and Advocacy / By / May 16, 2018

Lately, the Alabama Public Service Commission (PSC) has received a ton of attention around these parts. So you might be wondering, what does a public service commission do, anyway? If you only read this blog, you might think the Alabama PSC was our nemesis or something – a regulatory Joker to our energy-industry-disrupting Batman. (No? …

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Why Your Utility Bill Is So High (And What to Do About It)

Leave a Comment / Blog, Consumer, Education, Policy and Advocacy, Technical Assistance / By / February 19, 2018

It’s wintertime, and let’s face it: Your utility bill is going to be high this time of year. Even so, you might still be frustrated with your utility company when you get a bill that’s three or four times higher than normal. But before you call up your provider and give them a piece of …

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Greener State Only Leaves You With Less Green. Here’s Why.

Leave a Comment / Blog, Concerned Citizen, Consumer, Education / By / October 17, 2017

Greener State is a new program from Alabama Power that claims to give utility customers the chance to cover up to 100 percent of their energy usage with renewable sources. Which sounds great in theory because, after all, who doesn’t like renewable energy? In practice, though, Greener State isn’t everything it’s cracked up to be. …

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Probing Residential Demand Charges

Leave a Comment / Blog, Consumer, Education, Policy and Advocacy / By / September 11, 2017

What are Demand Charge Rates? We have become very accustomed to the electric bill we receive every month. This bill has different charges like sanitation, tax, etc. But the largest charge is very likely to be the electric service charge. Put simply, this charge is what the utility company charges to meet your demand, or …

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What is a Value-of-Solar Tariff?

Leave a Comment / Blog, Concerned Citizen, Consumer, Education, Policy and Advocacy / By / September 7, 2017

A value-of-solar tariff, or VOST, is a rate design policy that gives customers with solar panels credit for the electricity they generate at a specific price. The credit is then applied to the customer’s utility bill. A VOST usually clarifies how much energy is sold from the customer to utility company and from the utility …

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6 Reasons Time of Use Rates Are the Best Option

1 Comment / Blog, Business, Consumer, Education, Policy and Advocacy / By / September 4, 2017

Previously we discussed the pros and cons of the available utility use rates. In that post we mentioned that while none of the options are perfect we do have a favorite, so here’s 6 Reasons Time of Use Rates Are The Best Option   Time of Use (TOU) Rates will lower your bill. With some …

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Solar Shingles, Are They Really Worth It?

Leave a Comment / Blog, Consumer, Education, Technical Assistance / By / August 21, 2017

Tesla has done it again. The sexy, cutting-edge, tech company has come out with a product called Solar Tiles, also known as Solar Shingles. This revolutionary product will pave the way for sustainable energy to become the next home-design trend. The 8.65”x14” tiles currently come in two different styles, textured and smooth; the website also …

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The Importance of Reducing Solar Soft Costs

1 Comment / Blog, Business, Concerned Citizen, Consumer, Education, Policy and Advocacy, Technical Assistance / By / August 14, 2017

What are solar soft costs? Soft costs are any costs, fees, or taxes that are included with a product after material and labor. While solar energy is worthwhile, thanks to the long term savings and the benefits for the environment, many potential users are hesitant at first due to the initial cost. A significant portion …

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