Southface Institute: Blog

Electric Bills Decoded: Different Rate Plans Benefit Different Customers

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(Post 5 of 6) ←Previous Post | Next Post → I hope that using my family’s data and writing about picking our residential electricity rate plan has made the process more accessible, but I recognize that what’s right for me is not necessarily right for you. To provide broader guidance, I asked people I know to share their hourly energy use data with me and developed five case studies that differ from my own.   For each case study, I’m using …

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Electric Bills Decoded: Which Electricity Rate is Best If I Want to Go Solar?

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(Post 4 of 6) ←Previous Post | Next Post So far in our Electric Bills Decoded series, we’ve covered electric rates and bill charges, how electricity is used at home, and how to use data to decide on a Georgia Power residential rate plan. If your goal is to shield your household budget from rising electricity rates, you might be wondering how much you can save by going solar at home. Loyal readers of this series won’t be surprised to hear …

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Electric Bills Decoded: Using Data to Decide on a Georgia Power Rate Plan

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(Post 3 of 6) ←Previous Post | Next Post → This blog series centers around a seemingly simple question: Can changing my electric rate plan from Georgia Power’s Standard Residential Service plan to one of the utility’s other residential options save me money? While I enjoy the suspense of a good mystery, I won’t keep you waiting—after crunching the data, it’s clear that the answer is no.  Shortest blog post ever? Not quite. I’ll take you through the options that …

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Electric Bills Decoded: Understanding How You Use Energy At Home

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Education
Policy

(Post 2 of 6) ←Previous Post | Next Post → Gaining a baseline understanding of the many types of electricity rates and bill charges is an important first step in determining whether a different Georgia Power rate plan can lower your utility costs. But how do these calculations shake out in a real-world scenario?    Perhaps you have a general sense of your monthly electricity use and how things like your HVAC system or your electric vehicle charger impact your …

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Electric Bills Decoded: Can Changing My Electricity Rate Save Me Money?

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Education

(Post 1 of 6) Next Post → There’s been a lot in the news lately about how Georgia Power is raising electricity rates over the next few years, and residential customers are increasingly wondering what they can do to lower their monthly electric bills to offset these rate hikes. Of course, using less electricity helps. There are all sorts of energy efficiency upgrades that can make a difference on your bills, like switching to LED lightbulbs, adding insulation, and buying …

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New Leaders Turn Over a New Leaf at Sustainability Nonprofit

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Over the past 45 years, Southface Institute has grown from a small group of solar energy advocates in Atlanta to a Southeastern sustainability leader with comprehensive expertise in transforming buildings, energy policy, and community infrastructure. Southface welcomed James Marlow as president in 2022 to lead the next phase of the nonprofit’s work and scale impact. In Q1 2023, four new members were appointed to Southface’s board of directors: Evelyn Bolden, Dylan W. Howard, Caroline Mahoney, and David Paull. “Southface is …

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Local Nonprofits on Target to Cut Utility Costs and Grow Impact with GoodUse Sarasota

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Youth centers need air-conditioned spaces for after-school programs. Rehabilitating injured sea turtles requires tanks with filtration systems. Food banks have refrigerators to run. Meeting urgent community needs costs money, and with limited funding, nonprofits often own or lease older buildings with exorbitant utility bills because of ongoing issues like air leakage. These inefficiencies also harm the environment by burning through natural resources and causing climate-warming emissions that are also hazardous to health.  Southface Institute has been tackling this problem since …

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#WhereOnEarthDay is Southface?

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If you’re heading out to an Earth Day event in Georgia or Sarasota, Florida, this week, there’s a very good chance you might run into some Southfacers! Connecting with the community about sustainability is a huge (and hugely fun) part of what we do. Follow along all week to see #WhereOnEarthDay Southface is and swing by, say hello, and learn how you can get involved in exchange for some sweet, sweet swag. As you work to become the eco-friendliest you …

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Making the Most of the Inflation Reduction Act

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Originally posted by Atlanta Building News | Spring 2023 issue On January 1, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) began its financial support for residential energy efficiency upgrades, including upfront discounts and tax credits. The upfront discounts are designed to be taken directly off the bill at the time of purchase. The tax credits will work as a provision to reduce a participating taxpayer’s final tax bill. Between the discounts and tax credits, 18 different energy efficiency measures are supported by …

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GoodUse Makes a Solar Splash on Tybee Island

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Tybee Island Marine Science Center is located along the sunny coastline of Georgia, serving the community through tours of their brand-new facility, educational outreach, and animal conservation programs. Unlike traditional aquariums and nature centers, most of the sea turtles, corn snakes, alligators, fresh and saltwater fish, and other creatures housed at the Center are only there until they can be released back into the wild. But keeping marine tenants healthy at the Center, even temporarily, posed a seemingly permanent problem—the …

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