Amid a challenging economy and a changing energy industry, staying connected with members on important issues is vital. The recently passed American Recovery and Reinvestment Act—better known as the economic stimulus bill—contains incentives for members to save money by making energy efficiency improvements to their homes, and creates an opportunity for co-ops to connect members with the savings and tax credits available to them.

At its recent annual meeting, Touchstone Energy Cooperatives unveiled a series of informational public service messages (PSMs) about critical portions of the new federal stimulus package. The TV and radio messages focus on how co-ops and their members can take advantage of substantial new energy efficiency incentives for HVAC system upgrades, window/door replacements and insulation/weatherization improvements.

The Energy Tax Credit PSMs—both TV and radio versions—are available in Touchstone Energy Web site member resources section. The TV messages are posted here for viewing/listening purposes only; to order broadcast-quality TV messages in Beta SP or DigiBeta format, complete and submit an electronic order form. The radio messages posted on the Web site are broadcast-ready and downloadable for immediate use.

NRECA produced a communications kit to pair with these messages. The kit includes a press release, employee newsletter article, phone script, bill stuffer, flyer, and helpful graphics. The kit’s contents are posted on cooperative.com.

For questions about the TV and radio PSMs, contact Touchstone Energy’s Scott Bialick at scott.bialick@nreca.coop. For details on the communications kit, contact NRECA’s Megan McKoy at megan.mckoy@nreca.coop.