On a sunny August afternoon in South Sacramento, GRID Alternatives North Valley staff and volunteers stepped off of Milton Currie\u2019s roof after installing a no-cost solar-electric system through GRID\u2019s partnership with Sacramento\u2019s local utility company. His gentle smile and welcoming demeanor invited an opportunity to connect and discuss how the installation experience affects his life. <\/p>\n
Currie re-located to Sacramento from San Jose in the 1980\u2019s for his job with AT&T and Pacific Bell, where he worked for 32 years. He shared his thoughts and concerns about resource distribution in the region. He said \u201cIt seems where all the improvements come in, or end up being, is less diverse. I mean it\u2019s less for African Americans or minorities\u2026\u201d. He spoke about how GRID Alternatives\u2019 program to serve those who are, in other ways, underserved, addresses this issue. He said \u201cI am very happy about it. I am happy that it exists [\u2026] Being on a fixed income, all savings is good. Like I had to get help with my mortgage because of how the interest rates went up.\u201d<\/p>\n
This project was made possible because of our partnership with Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD). The local Sacramento Utility sent out thousands of letters on behalf of GRID Alternatives to low-income customers on SMUD\u2019s Energy Assistant Program Rate (EAPR). These SMUD customers receive a 44% monthly discount on their electricity bill to ease financial burdens.<\/p>\n
Over the next 20 years, Milton\u2019s 14 solar electric panels will save him an estimated $11,520. As the GRID crew left Milton\u2019s home that day, he again expressed his gratitude for the project. \u201cI am just very grateful that I get to take advantage of this. It\u2019s gonna help in a lot of different ways\u2026it will take a lot off my mind.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On a sunny August afternoon in South Sacramento, GRID Alternatives North Valley staff and volunteers stepped off of Milton Currie\u2019s roof after installing a no-cost solar-electric system through GRID\u2019s partnership with Sacramento\u2019s local utility company.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3532,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[78],"tags":[],"audience":[],"content-type":[12],"focus-area":[],"region":[15],"series":[],"content-author":[],"class_list":["post-6641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-equity-community","content-type-news","region-northern-california"],"acf":{"hero_media_type":"image","hero_media_image":null,"hero_media_url":"","hero_media_poster":null,"hero_video_play":"inline","related_stories":null,"pattern_override":null,"story_callouts":null,"media":null,"featured_blog_post":null,"featured_event":null,"pdf_download":null,"blockquote":null,"author":null,"notice":null,"social_embed":null,"contact_card":null,"meta_details":null,"faq":null,"table":null},"yoast_head":"\n