Lynda Smith cares about the way she lives on the planet. She recycles. She redesigned her landscaping to harvest rainwater. She’s thoughtful about the water she uses.
So using clean, renewable energy was just an extension of her conservation ethic.
“I’ve always been intrigued by solar because like most people, I recognized that climate change was on the horizon. I also wanted to be more in control of my billing and finances,” said the retired health care practice administrator.
After researching her options, she determined a private rooftop system wasn’t for her. She wasn’t a fan of the aesthetics and didn’t want the hassle of maintenance on the rooftop of the central area townhome she’s owned for nearly four decades.
When she learned about TEP’s GoSolar Home program, which allows customers to power their homes with energy from our large-scale solar arrays, she signed up.
She made the choice in part because of finances.
“I really appreciate that our rates are locked for 10 years, especially since you look around and the cost of everything is going up,” she said. “Plus, our summers just seem to getting a lot hotter so I wanted to have that confidence that I had more control over my financial destiny.
“It was so easy. I literally did nothing other than filling out an application,” she said. “They called, made an appointment to change my meter, gave me a way to clearly track usage and put me on a rate that is very easy on my budget.”
Lynda said she also made the choice because of her own values.
“I appreciate the fact that I’m consuming electricity without burning coal. We have a lot of open land, so I’m glad we’re able to use it for solar that can serve the whole community. It just seems more cost-effective than all of us having to put individual systems on our homes,” she said.
She’s since told her neighbors and has been glad to see that the program has worked for several of them.
“It’s just ideal for homeowners who don’t want the maintenance but still want to take advantage of the natural sunlight that’s so plentiful here.”
See a recent video featuring Lynda and her neighbors.
