On-bill repayment (OBR) is a mechanism by which a resident or business owner may elect to install certain energy upgrades to their property at no upfront cost and repay the cost of the measure and installation via a voluntary tariff on their monthly utility bill. The term “repayment” included in OBR denotes the fact that a third party provides the upfront funding for the installation.

Your local electric utility will bill customers on a monthly basis over an agreed-upon timeframe. In many cases the energy savings achieved through the newly installed measures is greater than the monthly repayment obligation, thereby saving customers money on their utility bill every month.

1. Gunnison County Electric Association
2. San Luis Valley REC
3. Sangre de Cristo Electric Association
4. Mountain View Electric Association

Any customer that receives electric service from a participating co-op (see list of partners above).

1. Live in or own a property in a participating member service territory with a valid electricity account number.
2. Have an immediate payment history of 12 consecutive months without shutoff notices.
3. Have no late penalties for the previous 6 consecutive months. Exceptions for up to two late payments within 6 months will be made for members who agree to enroll in autopay.
4. Members participating in state or federal income-based energy assistance programs (LEAP, LIHEAP, etc.) are not eligible for on-bill repayment, and will be referred to a statewide no-cost energy assistance program.

Please note: Currently, the OBR program is not available for members who are participating in bill assistance programs or budget billing programs.

The following list is inclusive but not exhaustive:

Air sealing and insulation, battery storage, electrical panel upgrades, electric thermal storage, electrical vehicle (EV) charging, LED lighting, Insulation, smart thermostat, heat pumps, heat pump water heaters, windows and doors.

Yes, if there are rebates available at the time of install, you can use the rebate(s) to buy down the amount being financed. For Example: If there is a rebate for a Heat Pump Water Hater in the amount of $500.00 and the total project cost is $20,000, the applied rebate would reduce the total finance amount by $500.00 and the new sum total would be $19,500.

Learn more about additional State rebates.
Learn more about additional Federal rebates.

All contractors who elect to participate in the Electrify and Save Program are required to complete a thorough authorization process with the Collective Clean Energy Fund (CCEF). To review the requirements and submit an Application, please access the Contractor Network Center. For a snapshot of what to expect, contractors are encouraged to review the Onboarding Process.

You (the property owner) do! A benefit of on-bill repayment is that the measure becomes yours at the time of installation, even though the upfront cost is covered by another entity. The ownership only changes if/when you sell your house to a new owner.

None! The repayment is included on your monthly utility bill, so your payment will be processed each month when you pay your electricity bill to your provider.

Yes, the on-bill repayment program allows customers to pay for the measures ahead of schedule, should you wish to do so with no penalty.

Your utility will pursue full payment for any balance on your utility bill (including for the OBR charges) through its regular collections procedures. If you are late on a payment, the utility will likely reach out to you requesting payment of any past due balances. Please be aware that your utility may shut off power due to nonpayment - the OBR charge is part of your regular electricity bill and for that reason the same disconnection rules apply.

If you move from the house and sell it while you are still paying the E&S charge, the financial obligation remains with the electricity meter associated with the property. Therefore, when you stop your electricity service, the obligation to pay remains at the property and will be assumed by the new homeowner. You do have an obligation to disclose the existence of this financial obligation to prospective buyers so they are aware of the tariff before buying the house. Often, homeowners will choose to pay off the measures in full before selling a home, to avoid the tariff transferring to a new homeowner.

Reach out to Tri-State Generation & Transmissions OBR Program Manager Lyndsay McDonald at onbill@tristategt.org.