The utility refers low-income customers to groups like Energy Savers Network, which provides free efficiency retrofits for long-term savings.
Talia Boyd was spending over $300 a month to keep her home just outside Asheville, North Carolina, cool this summer. It was an enormous sum for the single-wide trailer she shares with her baby daughter and teenage son.
“We constantly kept ceiling fans going, and I had to get AC units,” she said — multiple ones that ran 24/7 to replace the cold air seeping out from gaps around the windows.
But now, the air leaks have been sealed, a door has been replaced, and a new heat pump has been installed — all at no cost to Boyd. Her monthly utility bill from Duke Energy has been cut in half, she said…