Home owners and renters in various neighborhoods of Manning will soon receive information about a program that will help to reduce their electricity bills. The Neighborhood Energy Saver Program by Duke Energy is now being offered in Manning over the next several weeks. A team of technicians will travel throughout these neighborhoods along each street and contact the residents to offer their services. They will assess the homes and point out valid points about options to make them more efficient. Once the technician and the resident has agreed what is needed, another crew will then return by appointment to install energy efficient services at no charge to the resident.
“Duke Energy has offered this program since 2009,” said Evans Taylor, who is the Program Manager. “This program is designed to help customers to understand and manage their energy usage, and is completely free.”
The focus of this program is to actually install these things in the home, so that when we leave the things are working,” Taylor said. “They won’t have to install them themselves. Most of the time residents don’t get them installed or install them correctly. So the program is focused on installing them for them, answering their questions, making sure they are aware of what’s going on with the program and make sure they have an opportunity to better manage and better understand their energy bill.”
“I truly believe The Neighborhood Energy Program will be a blessing to the residents of this designated area of Manning,” said Julia Nelson, Mayor of Manning. “Just listening to their presentation has informed me of ways I can save energy in my home. This is a great investment and opportunity from Duke Energy to these citizens of Manning.”
Taylor described the stages of the program and how it is planned out. “The first step is to go door to door and assess the homes,” said Taylor. We will thoroughly check for water leaks, drafts around windows and doors, along with a long list of other potential costly areas that are common in homes. We sit down and discuss the findings with the resident about what situations or issues are present in their homes that potentially cost them more on their bills. We then set up a return date and time that is convenient for the resident. At that point, we send a two man crew to install the necessary measures.”
There are many options that are available through this program. The technicians will provide the following if deemed necessary:
Clarendon County Councilman, A.C. English attended the presentation of the program held by members of Duke Energy. It was open to the public and was at the Manning High School Cafeteria. English said that he has already witnessed the success of the program when it was offered in Sumter County last year. “This is an incredible program that will save you money on your power bill,” said English. “Everyone in the designated areas is highly encouraged to participate. Tell your neighbors and friends to sign up.”
Senator Kevin Johnson also attended the presentation and was glad to see the program become available for Manning families.
“Duke Energy Progress has always been a great corporate partner for communities throughout our state and region,” said Johnson. “Their Neighborhood Energy Saver Program is a prime example. Through this program, residents in the target area will be able to receive several energy efficient products at no cost to them. Duke Energy will provide and install these programs free and an added benefit is that these households will experience lower energy bills. I strongly encourage every household that qualifies to take advantage of this program.”
It is estimated that the program will be in Manning for approximately 10 weeks visiting homes and implementing the various energy saving measures.
