Sag Harbor - "As the 2011 Legislative Session wound down, the Assembly passed legislation I supported renewing the state's Article X power plant siting law in an effort to cut down on harmful emissions, protect the environment and lead the state into a high-tech, sustainable future (A.8510). Included in the
legislation is an important provision that will substantially expand the state's Green Jobs-Green New York program for ratepayers.

Green Jobs-Green New York offers homeowners low-interest loans of up to $13,000 and small-business owners up to $25,000 for energy-efficient retrofits to their properties. Administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), the loans cover the replacement of old water heaters, inefficient boilers and leaky weather stripping, to name just a few eligible jobs.

Under the new legislation, those loans could be repaid through a ratepayer's existing utility bill in a convenient practice called on-bill recovery. The program is designed to reflect a customer's savings on his or her utility bill each billing period. In other words, if your new water heater, purchased through the program, is saving you $30 a month over the old, replaced unit, you may only have to pay that $30 difference every month over the life of the loan. By all appearances, your bill would stay the same - until the loan's paid off, of course - but your house or business would be that much more efficient and valuable.

While on-bill recovery won't be available to all ratepayers right away, the program's easier-to-meet criteria will accommodate thousands of New Yorkers, including those who've been turned down by traditional lenders. The legislation will:

 • Require utilities to participate in the on-bill recovery program and set standards for how each utility would administer its program.

 • Allow NYSERDA to include in the cost of the loan a fee of $100 plus a charge of one percent of the total amount of the loan to be paid to the utilities to offset the costs of implementing the program.

 • Cap the amount of customers who can participate in the on-bill recovery to 0.5 percent of a utility's total customers. The Public Service Commission would be authorized to raise the cap if it finds there is no risk to a utility's electric and gas operations or the well-being of its ratepayers.

The expansion of Green Jobs-Green New York has massive job-creating potential. In fact, according to Center for Working Families' estimates, the increased demand for equipment, installation and construction will add 60,000 jobs and a projected $5 billion to the state's struggling economy. All told, on-bill recovery promises to encourage affordable environmental responsibility on an unprecedented level and inject new, sorely needed jobs and capital into the state's economy.

For more information on Green Jobs-Green New York or the on-bill recovery provision, visit NYSERDA's website at www.nyserda.org/GreenNY.