APS end loan deal for green projects

Arizona Public Service Co. is ending a special loan program for household solar- and wind-energy projects because its partner, GE Money, no longer is willing to offer the low-interest, unsecured loans, officials said.

APS announced the special loan offer in August, where homeowners can qualify for interest rates as low as 7.99 percent on loans of as much as $50,000.

The loans allow participants to make monthly installment payments for big energy projects instead of paying big upfront expenses.

GE Money will accept applications for the APS loans until Oct. 23, but that's it, said David Warren, director for the Electric and Gas Industries Association in California, which coordinates the APS program.

"With everything happening in the economy, we were hoping it wouldn't affect GE, but it did," Warren said. "It is not the ideal situation we were looking for."

Several Arizona contractors were certified to work with the EGIA on home-energy loans, and the organization still will offers loans through GE Money, but not the special program put together for APS customers, he said.

More than 1,000 people requested contractor referrals after the program was announced, but Warren could not say how many applied for the program.

"We are helping EGIA look for another source of funding," APS spokesman Steven Gotfried said.

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