Welcome Tenants & Landlords!
Living in our beautiful rural area of quaint towns and large properties - where almost half the residents are renters and Air BnBs compete for their living space - means that landlords are vital to our community's economic health and well being. Tenants in a tight rural rental market like ours can find it not only hard to find a good home and pay rent, but to also afford their rental's monthy energy bills.
It can be even harder to find landlords willing and able to make energy improvements that affect their renter's energy costs. Much of that energy comes from out of town sources, at ever-increasing prices, and often using polluting fuels. The good news is most landlords could finance needed energy improvements, while recouping the cost through rent, and eliminating or reducing their tenant's energy costs, so that it is win-win.
For a conceptual example, you may have a tenant paying $2,000/mo rent plus $200/mo for the electric bill. The landlord could install solar using monthly payments and make the tenant's power bill go away, plus add back-up batteries, and raise the rent $200 to cover the solar loan. This leaves the tenant protected from future rate hikes and unpredictable bills, while fixing their costs and not raising their overall cost of living, and also gives them back-up power. Meanwhile, the landlord takes in more rent, has a more valuable property, and less money goes out of town to PG&E, that will instead help employ local installers who live and spend money here.
We're helping to shift that flow of money going out of town, and turn it into increased rent for landlords who improve their property value, while also turning it into a net savings for tenants who struggle to keep costs down on a home they don't own. Whether it's electricity, natural gas/propane, or gasoline/diesel, we're here to help you help yourself and the community, by providing ways to use less energy (or produce your own!) while still enjoying our great Sierra Nevada quality of life.
Click on the information below to see all the ways tenants & landlords can save money and re-direct it into the local economy, strengthening the community, creating jobs, and improving everyone's happiness, health, and property values!
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Whether a rental unit's energy bills are covered by tenants, or are included in rent and paid by the landlord, it's time to get in the swing of saving money by using less energy. Here are a few ways to get started!
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https://www.pge.com/en/save-energy-and-money/energy-usage-and-tips.html/%C2%A0 SIMPLY Delete the extra characters, which in this case are /%C2%A0. The address will now read https://www.pge.com/en/save-energy-and-money/energy-usage-and-tips.html. Hit return and you will see the desired content!!
FINANCIAL INCENTIVES
for Landlords & Tenants
There are layers of incentives to help both local landlords & tenants make easier purchasing decisions in the direction of energy conservation, efficiency, clean energy, & back-up power.
These include incentives from the federal government and CA state government, as well as from utilities and manufacturers. There are even special incentives designed for veterans, families, senior citizens, low income homes, and other distinct population categories found in the Sierra Nevada, so we are confident you will find something here to help every homeowner in our community achieve energy progress. Join your local peers in creating happier homes!​​
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(It's important to note that some incentives are rebates that come AFTER a project has been completely paid for, requiring the full cost to be paid upfront. However, there are now many options for financing energy upgrades for your home. Ask your lender or contractor for info.)
UTILITY COMPANY FAQS
With large parts of our area served by PG&E for electricity and natural gas, and Pioneer Community Energy providing that power to some of PG&E's customers, there have been a lot of questions.
COMING SOON
To help foster bonds and enjoy the success of peers, we are working on creating special peer groups that can help create more excitement, enthusiasm, and encourgement as we make changes at home.
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This could include larger group meetings in person or online, or smaller targeted groups, as well as social media groups and mixers, newsletters, and emails.
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If this interests you, please contact us and we will add your name to the list of possible future energy-peers!
