Solar Survey Says
What percentage of your monthly electric usage would you be willing to assign to a solar-based rate? Zero, I’m unwilling to...
38.52%
5 percent
14.42%
10 percent
15.18% 12.31%
20 percent More than 20 percent
SECO Energ y is taking steps to embrace renewable sources as they become more cost effective. Nearly 4,000 SECO members responded to the online solar survey based on a utility-scale solar project that our generation and transmission provider, Seminole Electric Cooperative, is planning. Candidly, the results were mixed. 58 percent of respondents said that it was important that some or all of your electricity comes from renewable resources like solar. 43 percent of surveyed members said they would be willing to pay $5 more for a 100 kilowatt-hour block of energy. This means that 15 percent of those who said it was very important aren’t willing to pay for it. That’s a disparity SECO must carefully consider. 53 percent of respondents felt that those who wished to invest in renewable energy shouldn’t be subsidized by those who don’t. SECO leadership supports that position. Investments in solar by those who can afford it shouldn’t be forced on the backs of those who can’t. The survey asked members what percentage of their monthly electric bill they’d be willing to allocate to a solar-based rate. Nearly 39 percent of respondents said zero. 42 percent of those surveyed said they’d allocate between 5 and 20 percent of the bill to a solar rate and nearly 20 percent of those surveyed said they’d be willing to assign greater than 20 percent of their bill to a solar rate. 991001 SECO recently shared its survey results with Seminole and they’ll be adding our responses to those of our fellow distribution co-ops across the state. It is our understanding that Seminole is moving forward with the solar project. It’s also good news that SECO and Seminole are in the preliminary stage of a large-scale
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April 2015
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solar project at the Coleman Federal Prison. We encourage you to stay abreast by reading upcoming editions of SECO News, visiting www.secoenergy. com and joining our conversations on Facebook and Twitter. As a side note to the survey, 43 percent of members said they were interested in investing in low-cost energy efficiency improvements to reduce energy use and save money rather than investing in renewables. SECO employs a team of energy services specialists dedicated to helping members save money on their bills. Call or email us at customerservice@secoenergy. com to request a specialist to conduct a free energy audit on your home or business.
As a thank you for responding to the solar survey, SECO conducted a drawing for ten $50 gift cards. Winners were drawn randomly from all respondents who provided the last six digits of their The account number winners are: and an email address. 1 Joe, The Villages They were 2 Taylor, Clermont notified 3 J.E., Ocala the third 4 Joseph, The Villages week of 5 Thomas, Lady Lake March. 6 Sandy, Ocala 7 Bob, Clermont 8 David, The Villages 9 Eugene, Ocala 10 Carl, The Villages