State’s slow start puts federal stimulus funds at risk, audit finds, By Kate Linthicum, July 12, 2011, Los Angeles Times: “California could lose tens of millions of dollars in job-creating federal stimulus money for home weatherization projects because the state and several local agencies – including the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power – have failed to perform as promised, according to an audit released Monday. Two years ago, California was awarded nearly $186 million to help low-income homeowners make their houses more energy-efficient. But as of April 30, the state had spent $68 million, the audit found. California State Auditor Elaine Howle, whose office conducted the review, warned that California could be forced to forfeit more than $37 million early next year if it doesn’t quickly pick up the pace of distributing grants. Howle blamed a host of factors for California’s sluggish spending of the federal money, part of a $5-billion economic recovery allocation approved in 2009 to put people to work insulating attics, weather-sealing windows and making other energy-saving improvements on nearly 590,000 homes nationwide…”
Tag: Weatherization
Home Weatherization Program – West Virginia
‘Successful weatherization’ effort?, By Alison Knezevich, September 4, 2010, Charleston Gazette: “In April 2009, West Virginia received nearly $38 million in federal stimulus funds to make the homes of needy residents more energy-efficient. Eighteen months later, many are wondering why that weatherization aid never reached them. Karen Hoffman, 55, got a letter last June saying she had been approved for repairs at her mobile home in Cross Lanes. ‘No one has ever been here,’ Hoffman said. Peggy Coleman of Cedar Grove said a weatherization crew replaced her 33-year-old furnace late last year. The crew was supposed to return to install an air conditioner. ‘They just never came back,’ the 79-year-old widow said. Weatherization is meant to help cut the energy bills of low-income, disabled and elderly people. Crews can install insulation, seal ducts, and tune up or replace heating and cooling systems. The U.S. Department of Energy says families can save an average of $437 a year. The federal stimulus package pumped $5 billion into the program, but across the nation, states have failed to meet goals set when the stimulus was rolled out. They’ve blamed complex federal regulations and other challenges…”
Home Energy Assistance Program – Illinois
Community Contacts helps low income residents save energy, income, By Heather Linder, July 23, 2010, Daily Herald: “Carbon monoxide was silently seeping from Samantha Behenna’s furnace and polluting her St. Charles home. She and her family were clueless until Community Contacts, in the process of making their house more energy efficient, discovered the dangerous leak. The nonprofit, Elgin-based organization replaced the furnace and removed the threat through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). Community Contacts specializes in assisting low-income individuals and families from Kane and DeKalb counties in making their homes safer and more energy efficient with LIHEAP, the Illinois Home Weatherization Assistance Program (IHWAP) and the Housing Rehabilitation Program. The group helps keep residents from spending a bulk of their income on utilities…”