The New Orleans City Council voted unanimously August 19 to approve the New Orleans Energy
Efficiency Program (NOEEP). The program will have an annual budget of about $5 to $7
million for low-income weatherization and bill assistance and residential and commercial
energy conservation projects.
Start-up funding for NOEEP comes from $6.3 million the City Council received as part of
a settlement refund from Entergy in 2001 that was earmarked for low-income bill assistance
and energy efficiency. (See LIHEAP Networker
#41.) Continuing funding is derived from a one-mill non-bypassable charge on Entergy
electric bills of ratepayers residing on the east bank (New Orleans proper and suburbs)
and in Algiers. That translates into a $1 per month charge for a typical residential
ratepayer using 1,000 kWh per month. A cap of $250 per month is in place for large
commercial and industrial customers that use more than 250,000 kWh per month. Entergy
expects to start collecting the customer charge in 2005.
The City Council will appoint five board members to form the New Orleans Energy
Efficiency Corporation (NOEEC). The group will hire a nonprofit organization to administer
NOEEP and local agencies will apply for the funds.
About 27 percent of the funding will support no-cost weatherization assistance through
the State Low-Income Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) to customers with incomes at
60 percent or lower of the state median income. Weatherization measures will include
insulation, weather-stripping, duct sealing, door and window repair and will incorporate
an energy education component.
Another seven percent will fund low-income utility bill emergencies. An annual
contribution of up to $250,000 from Entergy will be matched by NOEEP funds. In addition, a
$750,000 endowment from the settlement funds, will be invested and distributed through a
new Emergency Price Assistance Program when the NOEEC declares a severe energy price
emergency.
Programs offered to other residential ratepayers will include cash rebates up to $2,000
for Energy Star appliances, low-interest home improvement loans and low-interest mortgages
if they improve the energy efficiency of their homes by 30 percent. Commercial ratepayers
can receive subsidized energy audits, incentives, rebates and discounts.
Local groups that worked together to ensure the success of NOEEP included the Alliance
for Affordable Energy, Total Community Action of New Orleans, the League of Women Voters,
AARP, Project REACH of the United Methodist Church, Louisiana Energy Raters, Council on
Aging, Louisiana Bucket Brigade, Neighborhood Housing Association and many more.
According to Micah Walker Parkin, program director for the Alliance for Affordable
Energy, "the Alliance has been involved since day one." She added, "We are
very pleased, after many years of advocating for such a program, to finally see the
passage of NOEEP, which will reduce energy waste and the resulting pollution in New
Orleans and make energy more affordable for residents and businesses."
James Wallace of Total Community Action (TCA) said low-income advocates from the agency
have been involved for years and have attended all meetings with the City Council. TCA
operates WAP in New Orleans and Wallace expects 400 homes will be weatherized with the
additional funding.
National groups also supported NOEEP. John Howat from the National Consumer Law Center
provided testimony to the City Council on behalf of Louisiana AARP. According to the 2000
census, Louisiana's poverty rate is consistently ranked among the highest and New Orleans'
is well above the state's. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration,
Louisiana's average residential electric bills were 18 – 33 percent higher than other
states' and ranked second highest in the nation from 1999 - 2002. Even though
electricity rates are relatively low in Louisiana, consumption is high due to summer
cooling and an aging housing stock.
A program similar to NOEEP may extend to the rest of the state because the 2004
legislature directed the Public Service Commission to create and provide for a statewide
Energy Efficiency Fund, according to Parkin.
SB 560, signed by the Governor on July 6, states "the Public Service Commission
shall adopt rules and regulations to establish and provide for the Energy Efficiency Fund
" that, among other things, will establish weatherization programs and energy payment
assistance for residential customers in Louisiana.
NOEEP is expected to start the summer of 2005 for Entergy customers in New Orleans and
Parkin hopes that the benefits New Orleans receives from NOEEP will help jumpstart the
statewide program.
Georgia Utility Energy Efficiency
Programs Get More Funding
On July 9, the Georgia Public Service Commission approved Georgia Power's and Savannah
Electric's 2004 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP).
The IRP adds $300,000 annually for the next three years to Georgia Power's existing
low-income energy efficiency program. Included in the IRP is first-year funding of $2
million for a new residential energy efficiency campaign for all income classes.
Georgia Power's low-income energy efficiency program is currently funded at $1 million.
Funds are piggybacked with the Department of Energy's Weatherization Assistance Program
(WAP) and provide insulation, weather stripping, window replacement and other measures.
Qualifying households at 150 percent or below the federal poverty guidelines are eligible
for energy efficiency measures costing up to $1,800 for fossil-fuel-heated homes and up to
$1,900 for electric-heated homes.
The supplemental funding will be available January 1, 2005. The programs are
administered through the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority, the state WAP
administrator; local community action agencies perform intake and deliver the energy
efficiency improvements.
Georgia Power will use part of the $2 million for its energy efficiency campaign to
continue to develop a partnership with Energy StarŪ that will advertise and provide
incentives for the purchase of energy-efficient appliances. The campaign will also develop
commercials to promote consumer awareness of the benefits of utilizing energy efficient
measures and to encourage energy efficient practices.
As outlined in the IRP, Savannah Electric will provide an extra $30,000 each year for
three years for its low-income energy efficiency program that is currently funded at
$100,000 annually and $200,000 for an energy education campaign similar to Georgia
Power's.
For more information, dockets 17687 and 17688 can be viewed on the Commission's website
at http://www.psc.state.ga.us/
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New Data, Payment Management System
Gets Underway for Minnesota LIHEAP
Several years ago, the Minnesota LIHEAP and Weatherization Assistance programs started focusing on efficiency, but not the kind that saves energy.
The challenge was to make program administration more efficient by reducing duplicative processes and eliminating information gaps, according to state LIHEAP director John Harvanko.
Minnesota's 41 service providers were using a variety of software programs to run mailing and database functions to distribute approximately $90 million annually. Much of the technology was old or outdated. It was difficult to administer and manage the program at a state level, Harvanko recalled.
The answer was an Internet-based system that was designed to update delivery, management, and accountability for the state’s LIHEAP (called EAP in Minnesota) and Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP). As of October 1, the Electronic Household Energy Automated Technology Project - or eHEAT - was launched as a web-based, real-time data and payment management system.
"The eHEAT system consolidates the business processes of LIHEAP and WAP, allowing agency staff to spend more time with clients and less time with paper,” Harvanko explained.
Now that eHeat is operational, Harvanko has offered to provide (to be made available sometime in late spring 2005) the software free of charge to any other state administrator. "Minnesota’s new system is replicable by other states, though some customization is necessary," said Harvanko. “Other states should not have to reinvent the wheel.”
Harvanko said the eHEAT design and development process took more than 18 months with involvement from stakeholders, including LIHEAP and WAP delivery agencies (mostly community action agencies), energy vendors, advocacy groups, state agencies and partnering agencies. There were more than 5,000 hours of meetings.
The state contracts with 41 LIHEAP and WAP delivery agencies and over 900 energy vendors, including “mom and pop” fuel dealers. Almost all can access the web-based system using eHEAT software.
Among other things, the system:
- Centralizes and streamlines the LIHEAP payment process, through daily electronic postings of payment, thus eliminating the writing of checks, processing time, and bank transfer charges.
- Shares necessary client information such as application status, benefit and consumption information among vendors and delivery agencies to maximize services to eligible households and prioritize the neediest households.
- Manages multiple funding sources (LIHEAP, WAP) to ensure fiscal accountability.
- Shares information and reports regarding program activity and outcomes and improves the state’s ability to measure program effectiveness.
The Minnesota Department of Commerce web site includes a wealth of information about the new system including the RFP for the system design, an explanation of the three phases of the project, and a manual for providers. It can be accessed at www.commerce.state.mn.us . Click on the eHEAT logo on the front page. For more information, or for a copy of the software, contact Harvanko at john.harvanko@state.mn.us.
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Massachusetts' "Energy
Bucks" Initiative
Seeks Greater Energy Program Enrollment
While Massachusetts has some of the most generous low-income energy programs in the
nation, advocates have been disturbed that only about 30 percent of those eligible are
receiving assistance from them.
In early 2004, a collaborative effort among advocates, utilities, and state offices
resulted in the launching of "Energy Bucks,"
an integrated campaign combining grassroots outreach, community-based activities
and multi-media advertising to build awareness of the variety of rate discount and energy
efficiency programs available to low-income households and encourage them to utilize the
services.
The various methods of outreach, including radio and television ads, energy fairs and
press conferences, promote LIHEAP (called fuel assistance in Massachusetts), various
energy rate discounts offered by the state's investor-owned gas and electric
utilities, and these utilities' low-income energy efficiency programs.
The project has its own website and toll-free call center through which potential
applicants can be referred to their local community action agency (CAA) to find out if
they are eligible for the programs. A Boston public relations firm has been hired to
design and market various outreach strategies.
"It's a targeted, customized, sophisticated and well-run campaign," said
Joe Diamond, executive director of the Massachusetts Association for Community Action
(MASSCAP), one of the collaborative partners.
In addition to increasing program enrollment, Diamond said another goal of the campaign
is to inform state legislators of low-income households' energy needs, especially in
light of escalating fuel prices, and convince them to allocate state funds to energy
assistance, which Massachusetts did for a number of years but stopped as of 2000.
During FY 2003, according to the state's LIHEAP leveraging report, over 86,000
low-income natural gas customers and over 163,000 low-income electric customers received
utility discounts ranging from 20 to 42 percent, depending on the utility. Savings totaled
about $46.5 million. However, one utility has estimated that about 700,000 customers
statewide are eligible for the discounts but aren't receiving them.
"We know we could get a lot more participation from the working poor, the
disenfranchised, and those outside the social service networks," said Elliott
Jacobson, a key campaign leader, and energy director of ACTION, Inc., a CAA in Gloucester.
The gas discount is mandated by state regulation, while the electric discount is
codified through the state's 1997 restructuring legislation. The restructuring law
also established a low-income conservation fund through a charge on every electric
customer; a conservation charge on natural gas customers funds gas low-income energy
efficiency programs. The low-income programs are implemented through the existing
weatherization and fuel assistance network, primarily CAAs.
The electric restructuring legislation also says that utilities are required to make
"substantial" outreach to potential recipients of the discounts, and it was this
provision that led advocates to develop a collaborative with electric utilities that
resulted in the Energy Bucks initiative and, to their credit, the state's gas
utilities also signed on, according to Jacobson.
During 2004, the campaign targeted the 14 largest metropolitan areas of the state in
order to bolster enrollment in the programs; that effort will continue this winter, the
project's second year. During the next two years, the project will target other areas
and recruit more partners. While there are no statistics to show the campaign's
success thus far, an evaluation will be conducted at the end of four years.
For more information, contact Jacobson at elj@actioninc.org or Diamond at joediamond@masscap.org.
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Washington Receives $13.5 million for
Energy Assistance and Efficiency
Washington state community action agencies, tribes and utilities and their low-income
clientele will benefit over the next two years from the state's settlements with
energy companies that manipulated energy market prices three years ago.
Attorney General Christine Gregoire created the $13.5 million Washington Consumer
Energy Fund in late 2003 with the proceeds of settlements negotiated by her office with
Williams Energy Company, the El Paso Corporation and Duke Energy. The money was turned
over to The Seattle Foundation to distribute grants to nonprofit agencies and utilities
that in turn would provide energy assistance and energy efficiency services to those who
most need it, in proportion to the harm experienced through electric rate hikes within
each utility service area. The utilities that experienced the most severe rate shocks were
predominantly public utility districts and municipals.
Washington received a total of $37 million for distribution to residential and business
electrical ratepayers during the next twenty years, based on past electricity consumption
by each group.
The Foundation sought proposals from non-profit organizations, municipalities, public
utility districts, and tribal organizations for energy assistance and efficiency projects
that would return a meaningful benefit to residential ratepayers. The key recipients,
announced September 16 by the Foundation, were the following:
- The Energy Project, a consortium of community action programs led by the Opportunity
Council in Bellingham, received $5,319,964 to provide bill paying assistance and energy
efficiency services to people living in 30 of the 53 utility service areas that
experienced rate hikes. The funds must serve three tiers of people: those at 125 percent
of FPG and below, those at 126 percent FPG to 200 percent FPG, and those at 200 percent of
FPG and above. The majority of the funding will go for energy assistance and
weatherization for low-income clients of the 16 community action agencies included in the
Energy Project's proposal. Each agency submitted a plan as to what mix of bill
payment assistance and weatherization it will provide; some providing both, some only one
service. Customers with the highest incomes will receive efficiency service such as
refrigerator replacement, energy efficient lighting and energy education.
- Thirteen utilities, including Snohomish PUD, Tacoma Power, Seattle City Light, and Clark
Public Utilities, received a total of $6,593,087 for a variety of energy assistance and
efficiency projects benefiting residential customers.
Seattle City Light announced that it will use its $1.6 million to help fund
distribution of efficient lighting to residential customers and assistance programs for
low-income customers. Clark Public Utilities will use its nearly $2 million to boost
funding for its low-income payment assistance program, Operation Warm Heart, and for
weatherization activities. Snohomish County PUD, in partnership with Snohomish County
Human Services and the Salvation Army, will spend its $3 million to expand low-income
assistance and conservation programs throughout the county.
Grantees will have 24 months to implement and complete their projects.
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Fuel Funds Plan National Action Day;
Local Fundraising Successes Highlighted
The National Fuel Funds Network (NFFN) has set February 1 as 2005 National Action Day for LIHEAP, the third time this annual event has been held.
The event, coordinated by NFFN, brings network members and allies to Washington, D. C., to participate in a day of educating Congress and the White House about LIHEAP funding needs. For more information, visit the NFFN website or contact executive director George Coling at 202- 824-0660.
At the same time, NFFN urges its member to organize local events on the same day to focus media attention on the energy needs of low-income households.
Several of the many examples of how fuel funds raise money locally to help with low-income energy bills are excerpted below from the NFFN’s quarterly National Energy Assistance Report.
Last winter Detroit’s Heat and Warmth Fund (THAW) raised more than $209,000 through a 30-hour radiothon conducted by WWJ Radio in Detroit . Donations generated by the radiothon were matched dollar for dollar by THAW’s utility partners (DTE Energy, Consumers Energy, Aquila, Inc., and SEMCO Energy), bringing the total for the event to nearly $420,000. The Winter Survival Radiothon for THAW kicked off at 5 am February 20 and featured live broadcasts by WWJ anchors and reporters, live entertainment from jazz and oldies groups, and hourly on-air auctions. The radiothon concluded at 11 am on February 21.
TXU Energy will contribute $4 million per year over the next three years to Energy Aid, its fuel fund. Energy Aid raises about $800,000 annually in donations so the new contribution from TXU will represent about a $5 to $1 matching grant. TXU kicked off its annual employee contributions campaign in August and officials said the company is anticipating a ten fold increase in employee contributions to the fund.
Entergy Texas has pledged to match customer contributions to its Project Care up to $500,000, which could double the program’s funding for the coming year. Last year donations to Project Care totaled $219,570. Entergy Mississippi announced that it will match contributions to its Energy Concern Program up to $500,000. The program provides assistance to people 60 years or older for energy bills and home improvements.
The October 17 issue of the Milwaukee Sentinel Journal highlighted the Keep Wisconsin Warm Fund’s second “Day of Warmth” held November 15 in cooperation with more than 100 Culver’s restaurants around the state. Culver’s pledged to donate 10 percent of its day’s sales to help with low-income energy bills. All money collected will remain in the county of the Culver's restaurant where it was raised. Last year the event raised $25,000.
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Means-Tested PGW Senior Discount
Program Rejected by PA PUC
A longstanding issue between the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission (PUC) and
Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW) over a senior discount program concluded September 30 with
the PUC denying the utility permission to offer its senior discount program on a
means-tested basis.
PGW has since 1974 provided a 20 percent gas rate discount to seniors aged 65 and over
of all income levels, amounting to about $20 million per year and serving nearly 80,000
households. In March 2003, the PUC approved a restructuring plan for the company, which
continued the program but prohibited any new enrollments after September 1, 2003. PGW then
petitioned to offer the discount for all seniors, but on a means-tested basis – new
applicants' household income would have to be at or below 250 percent of the federal
poverty level – about $30,000 per year for a household of two.
PGW estimated the new program would enroll about 1,300 customers at an additional cost
of about $366,000. The proposal was supported by the Mayor and City Council of the City of
Philadelphia and local senior citizen advocacy groups,
The PUC found that the proposed program's costs could not be justified in light of
PGW's financial difficulties, which were also addressed in the September
30 decision.
With its outstanding delinquent customer debt estimated at over $140 million, PGW had
asked the PUC to assess certain fees onto customers and to waive several regulations
related to gas service termination. The PUC granted several waivers of regulations for a
two-year pilot period. It also directed PGW to select an independent third-party to
evaluate the company's universal service and energy conservation programs. A final
report and recommendations must be submitted to the Commission by December 31, 2005.
PGW, owned by the city of Philadelphia, is the largest municipal gas utility in the
country. Under the state's 1999 natural gas restructuring law, it came under the
jurisdiction of the PUC effective July 2000. Prior to that, it had been under the
jurisdiction of the Philadelphia Gas Commission.
For more information, go to the PUC website http://www.puc.state.pa.us/,
click on search and enter
Docket # P-00042090.
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LIHEAP Clearinghouse Has New Website
The LIHEAP Clearinghouse has a newly refurbished website.
The result
is not only a new look but a website that is up to speed with
current
web standards. The finished product has faster loading
pages, updated
valid code, improved accessibility for persons with disabilities
and
enhanced navigation. A new search engine has been added
that
optimizes search results.
Check out the website at the same address
(http://www.ncat.org/liheap) for current LIHEAP news, state
and tribal
program information, LIHEAP funding and supplements, our
quarterly newsletter, the LIHEAP Networker;
utility restructuring / public benefits information by state and
much more.
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LOW-INCOME ENERGY RESOURCES
The Critical Need for LIHEAP and Its Impact on Utility Customers, American Gas
Association (AGA), September 2004. This 17-page paper provides an overview of historical LIHEAP
funding, as well as supplemental funding from utilities and other sources while at the
same time tracking energy price increases and the number of households served by LIHEAP
versus those eligible. The paper notes that FY 2001 LIHEAP funding was roughly the same as
1981 funding, and the number of LIHEAP eligible has grown more than 50 percent since 1981.
Residential natural gas prices have gone from an average of $6.30 per thousand cubic feet
(Mcf) during the 1990s, to $9.63/Mcf in 2001, and are forecast to remain at or above
$10/Mcf through 2005. "The current outlook for energy prices suggests an increasing
problem for low-income energy consumers," the paper says, calling for increased
federal funding for LIHEAP and for federal efforts to increase the supply of energy,
particularly natural gas, in order to help keep price increases manageable. The paper also
includes graphs showing the main heating fuel types used by low-income household from 1979
through 2001 (see below) and the estimated LLIHEAP benefits paid by fuel type by state. The report is available at the aga website, click on "Stats and Studies."
Report on 2003 Universal Service Programs & Collections Performance
of the Pennsylvania Electric Distribution Companies & Natural Gas Distribution
Companies, Bureau of Consumer Services, Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, August 2004. This 66-page document is the Pennsylvania Commission's fourth annual summary report on the universal service and collection performance of the state's six largest electric distribution companies and all of its major natural gas distribution companies serving over 100,000 customers, with the exception of the Philadelphia Gas Works. It includes utility-by-utility data on residential customer (both low-income and non-low-income) terminations, reconnections, debt, and arrears, along with each company's uncollectibles and write-offs. It also summarizes each company's spending on low-income rate assistance through Customer Assistance Programs and on energy efficiency through the Low Income Usage Reduction Program, and provides demographic data such as source of income, average household size and income for universal service program participants. The report is available at: http://www.puc.state.pa.us/general/publications_reports/pdf/EDC_NGDC_UniServ_Rpt2003.pdf
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