Appliance and Lighting Rebates are Available to OEC Members

        Members often ask questions about Focus On Energy and whether they are eligible for the programs offered.  Technically the answer is no, however you can receive the same appliance and lighting rebates through a similar program called Commitment To Community. 

If you go to the website, www.focusonenergy.com, click on the Financial Incentives and Cash-Back Awards tab, then click on the words “residential incentives”, you will come to a page explaining the different options for rebates.  In the first couple of paragraphs, you will see “eligibility tool” in orange.  Click on the eligibility tool and you will be asked to select the county you live in.  After you select the county, you will be asked to select your electric and gas utilities.  You must make a choice for both electric and gas.  If you choose Oconto Electric Cooperative as the electric utility, the next screen will tell you that we are not a Focus On Energy participant but that by calling Commitment To Community, they will tell you what rebates are available.  If you want to avoid all of these steps and just call the Commitment To Community program, the toll-free number is 1-888-543-8155.

 
If you choose to browse the Focus On Energy website, the appliance and lighting rebates should all be exactly the same as those available to OEC members through Commitment To Community.  So go ahead and look at the rebates but keep in mind it is the appliance and lighting rebates only.   As a matter of fact you use the same rebate forms that are found on the Focus On Energy website.

Your next question may be why OEC doesn’t participate in all of the Focus On Energy programs such as the Energy Star home program.  Other Energy Star programs offered through Focus On Energy are largely structured toward gas heat and gas water heating, and OEC sells electricity.  We have proven through our Dual Fuel program that electric heat and electric water heating can be very energy-efficient and will save homeowners money.  So when it comes to electric heat and electric water heating Oconto Electric offers our own programs with rebates and special rates.