PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact Drake N. Rice, OMPA Director of Member Services, 405/340-5047
City of Marlow’s Gregston Nursing Home Receives $29,160 in OCP/WISE Rebate Checks for Installing Geothermal Heat Pump Systems
On December 1st, Marlow Mayor Don Graham, Janice Cain, Marlow City Administrator, and Roger Farrer, OMPA Energy Services Manager, presented Jeff Gregston, owner of the Gregston Nursing Home Inc., 711 South Broadway, with rebate checks totaling $29,160 for the installation of geothermal heat pump systems during a presentation at City Hall on behalf of the city and the Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority (OMPA). The rebate checks were made available because of the city’s participation in both OMPA’s Oklahoma Comfort Program (OCP) and WISE Rebate Program.
The nursing home received a rebate check in the amount of $16,200 from OMPA’s OCP. This program uses funds from the federal Stimulus State Energy Program (SSEP), as administered by the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, to provide residential energy audits and rebates for the installation of Geothermal Heat Pump (GHP) systems. OMPA administers the program with assistance from the Geothermal Resources Council. ClimateMaster, Inc., a large Oklahoma-based manufacturer of GHP equipment, provides in-kind contributions to the program in the form of staff time, training for the public and professionals involved in the installation of GHPs, program promotion and other benefits.
The nursing home received an additional rebate check in the amount of $12,960 from OMPA’s WISE Rebate Program through the City of Marlow for the installation of the geothermal heat pump system. The objective of this rebate program is to assist participating member cities in encouraging their customers to purchase and install energy-efficient air conditioners and electric heat pumps.
When considered with other current incentives for GHP installations, GHP systems have never been so attractive. First, OCP provides customers with rebates of up to $1,000 per ton for qualifying GHP installations. Second, in participating cities like Marlow, this rebate is in addition to the current OMPA WISE Rebate of $800 per ton for qualifying GHP installations. And third, a Federal Tax Credit of 30 percent of the system cost (with no upper limit) is available to residential customers for qualifying GHP installations.
Customers who install GHP systems benefit from lower heating and cooling costs. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, GHP systems can save customers 30-50 percent off the costs of heating and cooling with older systems. In addition, GHP systems help OMPA member cities lower their electricity peaks in the summer and add winter load (when electric energy is the cheapest). This improves the load factors of the member cities and lower the cities’ bills from OMPA, as well as lowering the Authority’s operational costs, which mitigate future rate increases.
OMPA is an agency of the State of Oklahoma that currently serves 39 municipal electric systems in Oklahoma. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the creation of OMPA as a consumer-owned public power entity.
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