SAN DIEGO, Aug. 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) recently marked a milestone with On-Bill Financing which has helped more than 1,000 commercial customers since the utility pioneered the program in 2007 and now produces $10 million in energy cost savings per year.

More than $26 million in energy-efficient equipment has been financed through On-Bill Financing, which lends funds to commercial customers in good standing with the utility to purchase qualifying equipment with no money down and no interest payments. The funds are repaid from the energy cost savings produced by the equipment. Program loans range from $5,000 to $100,000 for businesses and up to $250,000 for taxpayer-funded organizations. The loan repayment period ranges from three to five years for businesses and up to 10 years for public sector customers, and is based on the equipment's cost and estimated energy savings to ensure that the monthly cost savings offset the monthly loan installment.

Customers assisted recently include family-owned Dallo and Company and their popular Hispanic community markets Foodland and Hometown in various San Diego, National City, El Cajon and Chula Vista locations, as well as Jonathan's, their gourmet market in La Jolla. With rebates totaling $50,720 and nearly $144,000 financed through an average 24-month zero-percent loan, Dallo's eight stores have acquired upwards of $194,500 in energy-efficient lighting and refrigeration equipment for an estimated energy savings of more than $73,000 per year.  Dallo is estimated to save 600,267 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity annually, with that energy savings being the equivalent of powering 86 homes per year. 

Dixieline ProBuild, one of the nation's largest professional building materials suppliers, registered nine home centers in El Cajon, Escondido, La Mesa, National City, San Diego and Solana Beach for On-Bill Financing. Dixieline acquired $294,000 in energy-efficient lighting, HVAC support and more, and will save approximately $56,000 annually.

Lawrance, a family-owned furniture retailer with showrooms in Hillcrest and Encinitas, also participated in the program in 2011 and is now saving more than $10,000 annually after financing $15,152 in LED lighting improvements. These savings equate to 62,509 kWh or 32,792 kilograms of greenhouse gases.

"We pioneered on-bill financing in 2007, and today, it is a model for California's other major utilities as well as those in other states," said Ted Reguly, SDG&E's director of customer programs and assistance. "With local businesses and taxpayer-funded organizations looking for savings everywhere they can, we're pleased that this program is a powerful part of the solution."

SDG&E is a regulated public utility that provides safe and reliable energy service to 3.4 million consumers through 1.4 million electric meters and more than 850,000 natural gas meters in San Diego and southern Orange counties. The utility's area spans 4,100 square miles. SDG&E is committed to creating ways to help customers save energy and money every day. SDG&E is a subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), a Fortune 500 energy services holding company based in San Diego.  

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SOURCE San Diego Gas & Electric