THOMAS COUNTY, GA — Thomasville is expanding a program that helps homeowners pay for costly home upgrades through their utility bills while also adding a new financing option for gas appliances.
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Thomasville city leaders are expanding a home energy financing program and launching a new one aimed at helping residents manage the rising cost of home equipment.
The city offers an on-bill financing program through Electric Cities of Georgia, allowing homeowners to pay for energy upgrades over time directly on their utility bill. The city council recently approved raising the borrowing limit for that program from $5,000 to $7,500.
Mark Parrillo, the managing director of customer service for the city, said the increase was driven by rising equipment costs.
"So, Monday night, we brought it before the council to get an increase in funding, meaning that the limit went from $5,000 to $7,500. And the reason why, one of the main reasons why we did it, since COVID, we've seen an uptick in the price of heating and cooling equipment costs," Parrillo said.
About 795 homeowners have borrowed a total of $3.7 million through the program for things like HVAC systems, weatherization, and energy-efficient appliances.
Thomasville resident Megan Young is one of those homeowners.
"We have single-pane windows, and our house was built in 1908, so it is definitely not always energy efficient. And I think our old HVAC system was maybe 25 or 30 years old, so it was definitely time for an upgrade, and they're much more energy efficient now. So the city, I think, pushes you towards the most energy efficient system that you can get to qualify for that program, and so then they'll finance a portion of the new system," Young said.
In addition to the expanded limit, the city is launching a second on-bill financing program in partnership with the Municipal Gas Authority of Georgia. Parrillo says the new program will cover gas appliances and home generators.
"We're going to launch a new on-bill financing program in a partnership with Municipal Gas Authority, MGAG, and that will cover gas appliances, the installation of gas appliances to the home, covering gas stoves, on-demand water heaters. It's also going to cover all home generators, light, similar to a Generac," Parrillo said.
Young said the new program would be useful for her household as well.
"Yeah, I didn't know that. Yeah, we have a gas fireplace and a gas stove, which we love, so yeah, if we ever had to replace that, then we would definitely do that," Young said.
To qualify for either program, residents must be homeowners with Thomasville utilities for at least 12 months and have their account in good standing.
Parrillo says the expanded electric financing program is already approved. The new gas appliance financing program is expected to launch in about a month once contractors are finalized.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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