Frequently Asked Questions

Transcription

1 Frequently Asked Questions GENERAL INFO 1) What is Gulf Solar Energy Share? Gulf Solar Energy Share is the first community solar program in Northwest Florida. It s a new, affordable way you can support renewable energy without the expense of rooftop solar panels. The unique program is designed to address your interest in supporting environmentally friendly renewable energy. 2) Where is the Gulf Solar Energy Share solar facility located? The first Energy Share facility will be located in Milton, FL off Highway 90 between the Industrial Park and the ball fields. Customers traveling from I-10 can go north on Highway 87 and turn right (east) on Highway 90. The first facility will be located on the north side of the highway, adjacent to the ball fields. 3) What are the benefits of participating in Gulf Solar Energy Share? There are many benefits to participating in Gulf Solar Energy Share. As a subscribing customer, you will play a major role in and be recognized for developing community solar. You will be a pioneer for solar energy in Northwest Florida! For every subscription, Renewable Energy Credits produced from the Gulf Solar Energy Share facility(s) will be retired on your behalf, allowing you to claim that the energy you consume from the grid is offset with renewable energy (approx. 750 kilowatt-hours per year per subscription!) You can support solar without installing and maintaining equipment! Other than your small annual subscription fee, there are no additional installation fees or equipment maintenance costs! As a subscriber, you will also receive monthly bill credits (around $2) on your monthly electric bill for every subscription! Subscriptions and credits are portable for customers that move within our service area. Businesses can reach renewable energy goals and support earth-friendly initiatives that support the environment. As new facilities are added to the program, all subscribing customers can benefit from technology advancements and improved system economics. Gulf Solar Energy Share facilities will be located in local communities, creating local jobs and additional tax revenues for local communities. Subscribers will receive promotional items with their subscriptions recognizing them for being solar pioneers! Custom packages are available for some commercial customers, so please refer them to the local marketing representative.

2 4) What exactly am I subscribing to? Do I own part of the solar array? For $99 a year, you can offset around 750 kwh of your annual power use with solar energy from the Gulf Solar facility. This means that for every subscription, approximately 750 kilowatt-hours of energy from our solar energy facility will flow to the power grid. This energy will displace energy which would have otherwise been produced by our power plants. You are not purchasing physical equipment (like solar panels), but rather subscribing to a new solar program designed to supply renewable energy to the grid on your behalf. 5) How many total subscriptions are available? Currently, there are 2,880 subscriptions available that will be awarded on a first come, first served basis. Once all subscriptions have been awarded, customers can sign up for a waiting list to be awarded subscriptions as they become available. 6) Will more facilities be built? If there is enough interest in the program, more facilities are built and more subscriptions will become available. 7) Do I get to choose how many subscriptions I want, or am I required to subscribe to a specific number? Customers can purchase multiple subscriptions, but customer subscriptions are limited to 100% of their previous twelve months average energy use. Some customers, particularly business customers, may wish to subscribe to a larger number of subscriptions. They typically use more power than a residential customer, so more subscriptions may be appropriate. 8) How can I calculate how many subscriptions I need to offset a particular process? Each subscription can offset around 750 kwh of annual power use with solar energy from the Gulf Solar Energy Share facility. 1 subscription = enough energy to run five laptops for a whole year You can determine how many subscriptions you may need to offset a process, an event, or even certain equipment or appliances by dividing the amount of energy these activities use in a year and by the amount of energy offset with your subscription, currently estimated to be around 750 kwh per year. Page 2

3 9) Does the power from the facility go to my house? Power produced from the community solar facility may not be specifically delivered to you but will displace power that would have been otherwise produced from traditional generating facilities. 10) Sounds great! When can I sign up? Customers can subscribe now by visiting ELIGILIBILITY 11) If I am not a Gulf Power customer, can I still purchase subscriptions? No. The program is only available to Gulf Power customers. 12) What are the eligibility requirements for participation? You must be a Gulf Power customer to participate in the program. 13) What kind of paperwork is required for participation? To participate, customers only need to submit a simple application that can be accessed and filled out online at: Customers that want to take advantage of the reduced annual subscription fee of $89 for committing to a five-year subscription term will also need to sign a five-year participation agreement. The agreement will be ed to the customer after receiving their subscription application and will be required to be signed and returned to Gulf Power prior to their subscription(s) becoming active. Participation agreements may be signed and returned electronically to the that will be provided with the agreement. 14) What if the project is fully subscribed? Once the project is fully subscribed, interested customers will be placed on a waiting list and contacted when additional subscriptions become available. 15) What if I want to buy more subscriptions later? As long as the subscriptions are not sold out, additional subscriptions may be available for purchase. Gulf Power is anticipating strong demand for this program, so we encourage customers to buy the right amount of subscriptions initially. If the program is sold out, your name will be added to a waiting list and you will be notified when more solar subscriptions become available. Page 3

4 COSTS 16) How much does it cost for one subscription? Is the cost ongoing? Will Gulf Power raise the cost? Customers can subscribe on a yearly basis for $99 per subscription. A commitment of 5 years per subscription will reduce the price to $89 per year per subscription. Customers will be enrolled in automatic renewal for the following subscription term unless they opt-out at enrollment or if they contact Gulf Power at least 30 days prior to their subscription renewal. For subscribing customers WITHOUT automatic renewal, the customer will be sent a notice 60 days prior to the end of the subscription period. The customer must re-enroll at least 30 days prior to the end of the subscription period to keep their subscription active. The annual subscription fee will not increase over time. 17) Are there any other hidden fees? There are no additional fees. You only pay your subscription fee to participate! (Taxes and franchise fees may apply.) 18) What if a storm or hurricane damages the solar panels? What if it is really cloudy and the solar panels do not generate enough electricity? Will my monthly bill credit be lower? The customer s monthly bill credits are based on an estimate of the annual renewable generation from the facility. Each year we re-evaluate how much solar will be generated and re-calculate the value of the credit. Estimates are great for the customer because they prevent fluctuation due to losses from random events like hurricanes or weather conditions. Customers can also expect their bill credits to change for each subscription year. As fuel/ gas prices go up, so will their monthly bill credit! Remember, damage to the solar array will not cause you to lose power at your home or business. You ll never have to worry about having enough energy at your home. Gulf Power will continue to meet all of your energy needs with other resources as long as there is no damage to the grid feeding your home. Additionally, Gulf Power will do everything we can to keep the solar panels well maintained and operational to maximize the bill credits you receive from your subscriptions. Page 4

5 BILLING 19) Do I still have to pay upfront for the subscription if I am on the waiting list? Customers on the waiting list will not be charged until subscriptions become available and they are accepted into the program. Customers who are on the waiting list will be notified when subscriptions become available and will be charged for the subscription(s) automatically. 20) How and when will Gulf Power collect my payment? And give me credits? Annual subscription fees will not be billed until the initial facility is commercially operational. It may be 2017 before Gulf Solar Energy Share is operational. Developing Northwest Florida s first community solar program takes time as Gulf Power s renewable energy team works to refine the program for our customers. Monthly bill credits will begin the month following the billing of the annual fee and will continue for a period of twelve months. If automatically renewed, customers will be billed for their next annual subscription fee(s) twelve months from the date of their initial subscription fee(s) was billed. Customers with five-year commitments will also be billed annually for their number of annual subscriptions. They are NOT required to pay for all five years upfront. 21) How is the monthly credit calculated? Right now, the monthly bill credit is expected to be around $2 per subscription. The $2.00-$2.50 monthly credit is the estimated bill credit for The monthly credit will be recalculated each calendar year based on the amount of energy produced by the solar facility and the costs we avoid from not having to produce that amount of energy from our other power plants. Since solar has no fuel costs, the avoided cost of energy is savings mainly in fuel costs, which is savings passed on to subscribing customers through the monthly bill credit. 22) The offset 750 kwh is at what rate? For every subscription we get for Gulf Solar Energy Share, we offset energy that we don t generate with a different type of fuel. That is around $0.03 per kilowatt-hour. The avoided cost of energy is savings that we see mainly in fuel costs, which is savings passed on to the subscribing customer. Right now the main fuel we use natural gas is very cheap, so avoided costs could change as fuel costs change. Page 5

6 23) What happens to my subscription payment if I move prior to the expiration of my participation period? Subscription payments are non-refundable. However, subscriptions and credits are portable. If a customer moves within Gulf Power s service area, the remaining monthly bill credits for the original subscription period will be credited to the customer s new account and the annual subscription fee schedule reinstated on the new account. If a customer moves out of the service territory, they will forfeit their initial subscription cost and monthly bill credits. Their subscription(s) will become available to the next customer on the waiting list after the original subscription expiration date for that year. Customers will not be permitted to transfer or assign subscriptions to third parties. 24) What happens if I want to cancel my subscription(s)? Subscription payments are non-refundable. If a customer elects to cancel their subscription(s) they will forfeit their future subscription(s) availability but will still receive the monthly bill credits for the remaining term applicable to their current subscriptions. For those customers who have signed a five-year participation agreement, their obligation to pay the annual subscription fee for each annual period during the term of the agreement is not subject to termination or cancellation by the customer. However, if the customer moves to a location outside of Gulf Power s service area and discontinues electric service with Gulf Power as a result, the customer shall be released from any obligation to pay Gulf Power for annual subscription fees which have yet to be billed to the customer during the remainder of the agreement term. 25) Are there any cancellation fees? There are no cancellation fees. However, for those customers who have signed a five-year participation agreement, a customer may not terminate or cancel their obligation to pay the annual subscription fee for the term of the agreement unless the customer moves to a location outside of Gulf Power s service area and discontinues electric service with Gulf Power. Page 6