Top Tier Battery Sales Reference — Georgia EMCs (Jackson, Cobb, Sawnee, GreyStone, Walton)

Five-utility market — all on AVOIDED-COST export compensation. Top Tier's GA EMC Wave 1 launch covers the five largest electric membership cooperatives in Georgia:

• Jackson EMC (~240,000 customers — NE Georgia: Jefferson, Banks, Barrow, Clarke, Franklin, Gwinnett, Hall, Jackson, Lumpkin, Madison counties; largest co-op in Georgia)
• Cobb EMC (~210,000 customers — NW Metro Atlanta: Cobb, Bartow, Cherokee, Fulton, Paulding counties)
• Sawnee EMC (~190,000 customers — N Metro Atlanta: Forsyth, Cherokee, Dawson, Hall, Lumpkin counties)
• GreyStone Power (~140,000 customers — W Metro Atlanta: Douglas, Fulton, Paulding, Carroll, Cobb, Coweta counties)
• Walton EMC (~135,000 customers — E Metro Atlanta: Walton, Barrow, Clarke, DeKalb, Gwinnett, Morgan, Newton, Oconee, Rockdale counties)

Combined reach: ~915,000 households — approximately 21% of GA's residential customer base outside Georgia Power.

All five are member-owned cooperatives purchasing wholesale power from Oglethorpe Power Corporation. They are NOT Georgia Power (investor-owned, Southern Company subsidiary). Every EMC operates under a different regulatory and program framework than GA Power — the pitch is materially different.

CRITICAL: What's Different From GA Power

If you've been pitching GA Power customers, you MUST adjust your talk track for EMC customers. These are the load-bearing differences:

What you CANNOT say to EMC customers

• "You'll get $4,500 back on the battery." EMCs don't have a battery bonus program.
• "Switch to Overnight Advantage and charge your battery at 2.2 cents." EMCs have flat rates — no TOU.
• "Sign up for Smart Neighborhoods and get paid for battery dispatch." No VPP at any GA EMC.
• "Georgia Power credits you 7.2 cents per kWh on exports." EMCs credit at avoided cost (~3-5¢).

If a customer says "my neighbor on GA Power told me they get $4,500" — be honest: "That's a Georgia Power-specific program through Southern Company. EMCs are member-owned cooperatives with a different rate structure. The battery math works differently for you, and I'll show you exactly how."

Pain-to-Cure Walkthrough

EMC pitch is simpler than GA Power — no TOU arbitrage, no battery bonus, no VPP. The customer's dollar story is moderate but defensible. Lead with takeover and resilience; bridge to the self-consumption spread; the long-game case is Oglethorpe Power Vogtle cost pass-through for EMCs, MEAG Power Vogtle pass-through for munis.

Default Configuration: BACKUP-CAPABLE. GA EMC leads with backup ($18.5K / ~$228/mo). Self-consumption is the lower-cost option.

Standing Rules (Do NOT Violate)

• ❌ NEVER coach reps to disqualify based on home tenure. Resale story is real — not "walk away."
• ❌ NEVER claim "all warranties transfer." Workmanship: with written consent. Align: non-transferable. Manufacturer: per OEM terms.
• ❌ NEVER fabricate inspection findings.
• ❌ NEVER pitch GA Power programs to EMC/muni customers. No battery bonus, no Overnight Advantage, no Smart Neighborhoods.
• ❌ NEVER pitch VPP/DR at any GA EMC or muni. None exists.
• ❌ 85+ confirmation call required. Customer confirms own finances, no POA, sound mind.
• ❌ Financing ends before age 91. 75 → 15-year max. 80 → 10-year max.
• ❌ Honest cancellation window. Overselling = free customer exit + $1K-$1.5K clawback.
• ❌ Certified before selling.

Go get the sale. A battery is a strong product — clean energy, independence, backup, long-term savings. A customer who wants one for any honest reason is a good sale. We never walk away over price or low savings — that's the customer's call.

The Problem

Why you still have a bill. EMCs and munis credit solar exports at avoided cost (~3-5¢/kWh) — far below the ~12-13¢/kWh retail import rate. The battery captures that spread by self-consuming instead of exporting.

Rep layer: The 7-10¢ spread is the core bill pain. No TOU, no bonus, no VPP. Simpler and more honest than GA Power.

Your inverter is on the clock. SolarEdge ~10yr warranty, replacement years 8-15. Out-of-warranty: ~$3,500-$5,000.

Georgia storm exposure. Hurricane Helene Sept 2024, ice storms in north GA, severe thunderstorm season.

The Solution

The battery captures your value. Stores daytime solar, uses at night, captures the 7-10¢/kWh spread.

We take it over. 10-year workmanship warranty, 5-year Align ($0 deductible, non-transferable), manufacturer warranty coordination.

Thousands you don't pay. The $11K+ Hidden Costs Avoided bundle.

The long game. EMCs: Oglethorpe Power Vogtle capital-cost recovery. Munis: MEAG Power Vogtle pass-through. A battery locks in economics.

What you actually own. The savings hero — combined 25-year value.

Urgency

Rate trajectory. EMC and muni rates are rising due to Vogtle Units 3 & 4 capital-cost recovery. The structural drivers are documented. A battery installed now locks in self-consumption economics.

Rep layer: Rate trajectory is the only urgency clock. No VPP, no state incentive, no battery bonus. The urgency is honest but thinner than GA Power's.

The Close

1. Verify credit. Run the credit check before moving to paperwork.
2. Customer reads and signs the service agreement. Walk through the key disclosures — don't skip.
3. Complete the Welcome Call. Finalizes the sale and sets expectations for installation.

Reference Sections

Everything below is detailed reference material supporting the walkthrough above.

Utility Identification: Which Utility Is Your Customer On?

The rep's first job before generating a proposal: confirm which utility serves the customer's address. Metro Atlanta is split between GA Power and several EMCs with overlapping county coverage.

Quick lookup by county

Confirmation method: Ask the customer who their electric bill comes from, OR check their bill header. EMC bills show the cooperative name. GA Power bills show "Georgia Power" (Southern Company).

If unsure: Generate the GA Power bespoke proposal until confirmed. Better to give a GA Power customer the right proposal than to give them an EMC proposal that understates their programs. Once utility is confirmed, switch to the correct pipeline.

Why You Still Have a Bill — The Self-Consumption Story

Use AFTER you've opened with takeover/inspection. All 5 GA EMCs share the same fundamental bill structure: avoided-cost export compensation that pays less than retail import. The bill anatomy is the same across all 5 EMCs — what differs is the specific rates (pending primary-source verification).

Why the customer still sees a bill

1. The avoided-cost export credit is well below retail. Every exported kWh earns ~3-5¢ at the cooperative's wholesale avoided cost, but every imported kWh costs ~12-13¢ at the residential retail rate.
2. Fixed monthly charges (customer charge, riders, taxes) aren't offset by net billing — only the energy charge.
3. Consumption mismatch within a billing period. Daytime production exported at 3-5¢; evening usage imported at 12-13¢.
4. Oglethorpe Power wholesale costs keep rising. The same Vogtle Units 3 & 4 capital recovery driving GA Power's rate increases flows through to EMC wholesale rates.

The battery's role

A battery captures the export/import spread by shifting kWh from "exported at 3-5¢" to "self-consumed at 12-13¢" — that's a 7-10¢/kWh spread on every shifted kWh. This is the core dollar story for EMC customers.

How to use it in conversation

"You're on [Jackson EMC / Cobb EMC / etc.], and your co-op credits your solar exports at about 3-5 cents per kWh — that's the wholesale avoided cost rate. But when you import from them, you pay 12-13 cents. That 7-10 cent spread is why you still see a bill, even though your panels are producing well. The battery captures that spread by storing your daytime solar and using it in the evening instead of exporting it at 3-5 cents. Every kWh it shifts saves you the full spread."

What NOT to say

• "Your bill will go to zero with a battery." Not true — fixed charges remain regardless.
• "You get 7.2 cents on exports like GA Power." Wrong — EMCs pay avoided cost, not RNR. The rate is roughly half of GA Power's export rate.
• "Switch to a TOU rate plan to maximize savings." EMCs don't have TOU rates. The battery value is self-consumption on a flat rate, not time-of-use arbitrage.

Rate Trajectory: Oglethorpe Power + Vogtle Cost Pass-Through

This is the rate-hedge pillar of the EMC pitch. EMCs purchase wholesale from Oglethorpe Power Corporation, which owns a share of Plant Vogtle Units 3 & 4. The same nuclear capital-cost recovery driving GA Power's 30.8% rate increases flows through to EMC wholesale rates on a cooperative-governed timeline.

Three rate-of-change scenarios (from the proposal)

Rate-trajectory framing

Cooperative governance historically moderates — but does not eliminate — rate growth. The pressure sources are structural:

• Oglethorpe Power Vogtle capital recovery — the same multi-billion-dollar nuclear construction cost recovery flowing through GA Power's rates is flowing through Oglethorpe's wholesale rates to all 41 EMCs
• Georgia Transmission Corporation — transmission grid modernization and storm-hardening investment flowing through to EMC rates
• Natural gas exposure — Oglethorpe's generation mix includes natural gas; volatile fuel costs flow through wholesale rates
• Data center load growth — Georgia is a major data center market; new generation investment to serve this load compounds the capital recovery pressure

How to use it in conversation

"Your EMC buys wholesale power from Oglethorpe Power, which owns part of the Vogtle nuclear plant. The same multi-billion-dollar cost recovery that drove Georgia Power to raise rates 30% in 18 months is flowing through to Oglethorpe's wholesale rates — and from there to your co-op's retail rates. The cooperative board moderates the pace, but the wholesale cost pressure is structural. The battery locks in your self-consumption economics before the next round of wholesale increases hits your bill."

Hidden Costs Avoided: The $11K System Takeover Bundle

Applies equally to all 5 GA EMCs. When Top Tier takes over the system, you bundle in services the customer would otherwise pay out of pocket over the 25-year horizon.

How to use it in conversation

"On top of the self-consumption spread — you're picking up over $11K of bundled services that aren't sold separately. If your inverter fails in year 12, the warranty coordination alone saves you a few hundred dollars. The replacement costs $3-5K. The 5-year Align contract on your existing system is $1,500 you'd otherwise pay out of pocket. After Hurricane Helene hit Georgia last September, service-call wait times spiked across the state — having a service contract pre-paid into the takeover means you're not on a 90-day waitlist."

Storm Resilience: The Georgia Weather Pattern

Resilience is co-equal with the spread story for EMC customers. The dollar story is moderate (smaller spread than GA Power); resilience does heavier lifting in the pitch.

Georgia's documented severe-weather pattern

• Hurricane Helene (September 2024) — THE recent anchor event. Devastating damage across northern Georgia (many EMC territories in the impact zone). Jackson EMC, Sawnee EMC, and Walton EMC territories all exposed to the storm track.
• Ice storms — Georgia's Appalachian foothills (Jackson EMC, Sawnee EMC territory) are ice-storm exposed
• Severe thunderstorm season — Metro Atlanta's EMC territories see regular severe thunderstorm outages
• Tornado risk — Georgia averages 30+ tornadoes per year; Metro Atlanta suburbs are in the risk zone

How to use it in conversation

"Georgia's weather pattern makes outage protection real, not theoretical. Hurricane Helene last September affected millions of Georgia customers — your co-op's territory was in the impact zone. The battery powers your critical loads — furnace blower, sump pump, fridge, lights, internet, medical equipment — for 18-30 hours without solar recharge, indefinitely if there's enough sun."

Common Objections — EMC-Specific

"My neighbor on GA Power told me they get $4,500 for a battery."

"That's correct — Georgia Power has a battery bonus program through Southern Company. EMCs are member-owned cooperatives with a different structure. Your co-op doesn't have that program. What you DO get is the self-consumption spread — every kWh your battery shifts from export to self-consumption saves you 7-10 cents. Over 25 years, that's [$10K-$21K] in rate protection plus the $11K takeover bundle plus real outage protection. The GA Power pitch sounds bigger upfront, but their customer also pays a higher loan payment to capture TOU arbitrage that you don't need. Your math is simpler and it's honest."

"Why is my savings projection lower than what GA Power customers see?"

"Two reasons. First, GA Power credits exports at about 7.2 cents — your co-op credits at about 3-5 cents avoided cost. The spread is different. Second, GA Power customers get TOU arbitrage with the Overnight Advantage rate plan — charging at 2.2 cents overnight and discharging during 29.8-cent peak hours. Your co-op has a flat rate, so there's no time-of-use arbitrage to capture. The dollar math is moderate but real. And the rate-protection story is just as strong — Oglethorpe Power's wholesale costs are rising for the same structural reasons GA Power's retail rates rose 30% in 18 months."

"Can I switch to GA Power to get the better programs?"

"In most cases, no — your service territory is determined by your address, and EMC territories are set by franchise agreements. But the reality is that GA Power's programs come with GA Power's rate structure. EMC rates are typically competitive with or lower than GA Power's retail rates. The battery math is different, but your starting point — your retail rate — is often comparable."

"Do I get a discount for letting you control my battery?"

"Honestly, no — your co-op doesn't have a VPP program where they'd pay you for battery dispatch. GA Power has the Smart Neighborhoods pilot, but that's GA Power-specific. If your co-op launches something similar in the future, you'd be first in line because you already have the battery installed. But I won't pitch you on future programs that don't exist yet."

"The federal tax credit covers batteries, right?"

"The federal solar Investment Tax Credit expired December 31, 2025. Some installer sources claim a residual credit for batteries added to existing solar in 2026, but primary IRS guidance doesn't affirm that. We don't pitch the Section 25D residual credit without tax-counsel review. What I CAN tell you is that the self-consumption economics, the $11K takeover bundle, and the resilience value all stand on their own — they don't depend on a tax credit."

✓ DO SAY · ✗ NEVER SAY

Per-EMC Quick Reference

Jackson EMC

• Territory: NE Georgia — 10 counties, anchor city Jefferson
• Customer count: ~240,000 (largest co-op in GA)
• Key differentiator: Largest, most sophisticated customer base; likely most progressive on DER policy
• Helene exposure: NE GA in storm impact zone
• Rate verification status: TODO — pending primary-source tariff pull
• Special notes: May have community solar or Green Power program beyond basic buyback; verify current interconnection terms

Cobb EMC

• Territory: NW Metro Atlanta — 5 counties
• Customer count: ~210,000
• Key differentiator: Suburban Atlanta, tech-forward reputation; Green Power program available
• Helene exposure: Metro Atlanta periphery
• Rate verification status: TODO — pending primary-source tariff pull
• Special notes: Possible demand response / load management pilot — default to NO if unverified

Sawnee EMC

• Territory: N Metro Atlanta — 5 counties, Forsyth County anchor
• Customer count: ~190,000
• Key differentiator: Community solar program documented; may have TOU rate option (verify)
• Helene exposure: N Metro Atlanta in Helene impact zone
• Rate verification status: TODO — pending primary-source tariff pull
• Special notes: One of the more progressive GA EMCs; verify if TOU exists (would change battery math)

GreyStone Power

• Territory: W Metro Atlanta — 6 counties
• Customer count: ~140,000
• Key differentiator: Douglas/Paulding/Carroll county anchor; western suburban corridor
• Helene exposure: W Metro Atlanta periphery
• Rate verification status: TODO — pending primary-source tariff pull

Walton EMC

• Territory: E Metro Atlanta — 9 counties
• Customer count: ~135,000
• Key differentiator: Published interconnection application process; most transparent solar policy of the 5
• Helene exposure: E Metro Atlanta — moderate exposure
• Rate verification status: TODO — pending primary-source tariff pull
• Special notes: Application forms available online — can reference in customer conversations

Wave 2 — Additional EMCs

Snapping Shoals EMC

• Territory: SE Metro Atlanta — Henry, Newton, Rockdale, DeKalb counties
• Customer count: ~100,000
• Key differentiator: SE Metro corridor; overlaps with Walton EMC territory in some counties
• Rate verification status: TODO — pending primary-source tariff pull

Coweta-Fayette EMC

• Territory: S Metro Atlanta — Coweta, Fayette, Spalding counties
• Customer count: ~80,000
• Key differentiator: Coweta County overlap with Newnan Utilities (muni) — confirm customer's utility by bill header
• Rate verification status: TODO — pending primary-source tariff pull

Central Georgia EMC

• Territory: Central GA / Macon area — Bibb, Houston, Peach counties
• Customer count: ~50,000
• Key differentiator: Middle GA; outage context differs from Metro Atlanta (severe thunderstorms + tornado risk, less hurricane)
• Rate verification status: TODO — pending primary-source tariff pull

Carroll EMC

• Territory: W GA / Alabama border — Carroll, Haralson, Polk counties
• Customer count: ~50,000
• Key differentiator: Western GA near Alabama border
• Rate verification status: TODO — pending primary-source tariff pull

Habersham EMC

• Territory: NE GA mountains — Habersham, Rabun, Stephens, White, Towns counties
• Customer count: ~50,000
• Key differentiator: Mountain region — ice storms more material than hurricanes; longer rural restoration times strengthen resilience pitch
• Rate verification status: TODO — pending primary-source tariff pull

Wave 2 — Municipal Utilities (MEAG Power Members)

Municipal utilities differ from EMCs in one key way: most GA munis purchase wholesale from MEAG Power (Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia), not Oglethorpe Power. MEAG owns ~22.7% of Vogtle Units 3 & 4 — the same nuclear capital-cost recovery that drives GA Power's rate increases flows through MEAG to member cities.

Muni-specific pitch adjustments:

• Rate-trajectory framing uses MEAG Power (not Oglethorpe Power) as the wholesale source
• Muni rates set by city council (not cooperative board, not GA PSC)
• Munis typically have faster outage response than large IOUs — resilience pitch is about whole-home backup during shared events, not outage frequency
• The MEAG Vogtle pass-through creates a documented, structural rate-trajectory story — this is forecastable, not speculative

Marietta Power

• Territory: City of Marietta, Cobb County
• Customer count: ~35,000
• MEAG member: Yes
• Key differentiator: Largest Wave 2 muni; Cobb County overlap with Cobb EMC — confirm utility by bill header
• Rate verification status: TODO — pending primary-source tariff pull

Dalton Utilities

• Territory: City of Dalton + Whitfield County, NW Georgia
• Customer count: ~25,000
• MEAG member: TODO — verify (may have independent power supply)
• Key differentiator: Historically more solar-friendly than typical GA muni; verify specific programs. NW GA = ice storm territory
• Rate verification status: TODO — pending primary-source tariff pull
• Special notes: If Dalton has true net metering or battery rebates, the pitch changes materially — flag for priority verification

LaGrange Utilities

• Territory: City of LaGrange, Troup County
• Customer count: ~15,000
• MEAG member: Yes
• Rate verification status: TODO — pending primary-source tariff pull

Newnan Utilities

• Territory: City of Newnan, Coweta County
• Customer count: ~12,000
• MEAG member: Yes
• Key differentiator: Coweta County overlap with Coweta-Fayette EMC — confirm utility by bill header
• Rate verification status: TODO — pending primary-source tariff pull

Cartersville Electric

• Territory: City of Cartersville, Bartow County
• Customer count: ~10,000
• MEAG member: Yes
• Rate verification status: TODO — pending primary-source tariff pull

Common Objections — Muni-Specific

"Our city utility is cheap, why would I add solar+battery?"

"City rates may be competitive today — but your city buys wholesale from MEAG Power, which owns part of the Vogtle nuclear plant. The multi-billion-dollar capital cost of those units is being recovered through wholesale rates right now. That cost recovery is structural — it's not speculation, it's documented. A battery locks in your self-consumption economics before the next round of MEAG wholesale increases hits your city's retail rates."

"My city already buys power from MEAG — isn't that already clean energy?"

"Vogtle Units 3 & 4 are nuclear, which is low-carbon — that's true. But as a ratepayer, you're paying for the cost overruns on those units. Solar + battery is YOUR resilience and YOUR rate stability — it doesn't depend on what fuel source your city uses. It puts generation and storage on your roof, under your control."

Wave 3 — Generic Catch-All (Other GA EMC / Other GA Muni)

When to use: The customer's utility is a GA EMC or muni that is NOT individually listed in the utility picker. Rather than no option, the rep selects "Other GA EMC" or "Other GA Muni" to generate a conservative generic estimate.

What it is:

• A proposal using GA-typical default rates (avoided-cost export ~3-5¢/kWh, retail ~12-13¢/kWh, 3/5/7% rate escalation scenarios)
• Conservative: uses the smaller-utility monthly bill default ($140 for EMCs, $130 for munis) to avoid over-quoting
• Neutral framing: NO MEAG/Vogtle claims on the muni catch-all (unlisted muni may or may not be a MEAG member)
• Explicit "generic estimate" disclosure on all customer-facing surfaces

What it is NOT:

• A substitute for verifying the customer's actual utility rates
• A basis for aggressive quoting — lead with the conservative end
• A permanent state — once Todd verifies the specific utility's rates, it should be individually configured (file a request)

Rep workflow:

1. Customer's utility is not in the picker (e.g., Tri-State EMC, Hart EMC, Acworth Power, etc.)
2. Select "Other GA EMC" or "Other GA Muni" depending on utility type
3. Generate the proposal — it will carry a "Generic Estimate" tag and disclosure
4. Walk the customer through the numbers with the caveat: "These use GA-typical rates for your type of utility. Once I confirm your specific rates, I can refine the projection."
5. Flag the utility to Todd for individual configuration in a future wave

What NOT to say with the catch-all:

• "Your savings will be exactly $X." (Generic estimate — could be higher or lower)
• "Your EMC participates in the battery bonus." (No EMC does — but especially don't imply a specific program for an unverified utility)
• "Your city buys from MEAG Power and Vogtle costs will drive your rates up." (May not be a MEAG member — the muni catch-all uses neutral framing for this reason)

Rate Verification Status

All EMC and muni rates are Phase A research estimates (MEDIUM confidence). Todd must verify exact rates from primary sources before these proposals go to customers.