Clothes washers, freezers, refrigerators, central air conditioners, room air conditioners, air-source heat pumps, geothermal heat pumps, ceiling fans, dehumidifiers and programmable   thermostats will be exempt from the state’s 7.75 percent sales tax on that weekend provided they carry the “Energy Star” label.

Items purchased for use in a trade or business and for rentals are not covered by the exemption. Purchases of qualifying “Energy Star” products by contractors who will install the products in structures for customers are subject to the tax even when purchased during the holiday.

For details, visit N.C. Department of Revenue’s Web site at www.dornc.com.

Details About the Rebate…

In addition, Jones-Onslow customers who purchase an Energy Star appliance that qualifies for the sales tax exemption during the weekend of November 6-8 will also be eligible to receive a one-time credit of $50 on their electric bill from Jones-Onslow. 

To qualify for the rebate/credit, customers must complete a form, attach a copy of the sales receipt, and mail or bring the paperwork to either the Jacksonville or Sneads Ferry office. The form that must be completed can be downloaded here or picked up at one of the offices starting November 1, 2009. All rebate/credit requests must be received by December 31, 2009.

Cooperative customers who participate in Jones-Onslow’s Energy Star Rebate/Credit Program are eligible for only one $50 rebate/credit per member.

Jones-Onslow and the other Touchstone Energy cooperatives nationwide have rolled out a new energy-efficiency web site designed to encourage customers to save energy and money. The web site provides very specific directives, accompanied by real savings calculations, on how customers can take control of their energy costs.

At www.TogetherWeSave.com you can take a virtual home tour of savings tips by going from room to room. The online energy savings calculator enables a customer to interactively see how making adjustments inside their home or business can save money. Items such as lowering the blinds, flipping a switch, changing your thermostat setting, increasing your insulation, switching to CFLs, or upgrading your HVAC equipment are all covered on this informative site.

You can also view energy saving videos and get simple tips that will help you immediately lower your energy use and save money at the same time.

To learn more visit www.joemc.com and click on the “Together We Save” link on the cooperative homepage or go directly to www.TogetherWeSave.com.

Once again, after additional fuel costs and total power costs were received and compared to what was previously projected, we have good news…the cooperative is pleased to announce that customers will see an additional credit of $9.66 per 1,000 kilowatt-hours of use. With the previous credit that customers started receiving in July, this brings the total WPTA credit to $11.56 per 1,000 kilowatt-hours used (an average decrease of just over 10%). This new credit amount will begin with this month’s electric bills and is projected to continue for the rest of 2009. 

“With everything going on with the economy today and with the holiday season just around the corner, we are glad to be able to return monies to our customers because of the wholesale power cost adjustment,” said CEO Ron McElheney. “We will continue to work each and every day to operate our business as efficiently as possible while maintaining the dependable, reliable electric service that our customers have come to expect.”