AARP Bulletin - September 2009

Your World ;
Where to Find Help
roof could limp through one more searing Ari-
zona summer.
Before the season even hit, however, things
got worse. One day Olivarria caught the faint
smell of rotten eggs in her house. A gas line
had broken. The local utility shut off her gas,
which fuels her furnace and hot water heater,
and suggested a contractor to repair the line—
for $1,000.
“A thousand dollars!” Olivarria says. “That’s my
monthly income. There’s no way I could do it.”
But one recent morning, a crew was hard
at work on Olivarria’s property. The workers
fixed the gas line and connected it to a new
energy-efficient furnace and water heater.
They installed reflective window shades
outside her living room to deflect the sun’s
heat. Then they went on Olivarria’s roof and
installed a new cooling unit.
And it all cost Olivarria nothing. The tab,
which would likely exceed $5,000 commer-
cially, was covered by a federal program that
aims to help low-income and older Americans
weatherize their homes.
To find your state weather-
ization-assistance program
contact, go to http://apps1.
eere.energy.gov/weatheriza
tion/state _contacts.cfm
and click on your state on
the map.
The expanded energy effi-
ciency tax credit is explained
at www.irs.gov/newsroom/
article/0,,id=206875,00.
html?portlet= 7.
To learn other ways you
can cut energy costs—and
help others to do the
same—go to www.create
thegood/energysave.
Energy breaks
Across the country, thousands of homes like Oli-
varria’s are echoing with the sounds of repairs,
thanks to dramatically expanded federal spend-
ing for weatherization assistance for home-
owners and increased tax credits for those who
improve their energy efficiency. The funding
was included in the massive economic stimulus
package—the American Recovery and Reinvest-
ment Act—signed into law by President Obama
last winter. The expanded programs offer an un-
precedented opportunity for Americans to make
needed home repairs with Uncle Sam’s help.
Stimulus funding bolsters the U.S. Depart-
ment of Energy’s Weatherization Assistance
Program with $5 billion to be spent during the
next one to three years. That’s many times the
previous year’s funding for the program, which
was started during the 1970s fuel crisis. At full
capacity, the program will reduce fuel bills in
1 million homes a year, according to the DOE.
It could also put an estimated 87,000 people to
work fixing up older homes.
“These investments will reduce energy costs
for those that need it most, while creating jobs,
reducing pollution and moving the country to-
ward energy independence,” says Secretary of
Energy Steven Chu.
Who’s eligible
To put weatherization
within reach of more low-
income homeowners, the
government raised the pro-
gram’s eligibility limits—
they had varied from state
to state—to 200 percent of
the poverty level. That’s
income of $21,660 for an
individual and $44,100 for
a family of four (higher in
Alaska and Hawaii). The
federal guidelines allow
states to give priority to
people over 60, people with
disabilities and families
with children. Final eligi-
bility is determined at the local level.
“We like to focus on people on fixed incomes,”
says Charlie Gohman, weatherization program
manager for Arizona, reflecting a common ap-
proach. “If they’re elderly or disabled, and their
energy burden is 30 percent of their income,
they can be moved up the list.”
Olivarria estimates that she spends about 20
percent of her income on electricity and gas.
With a fixed income of about $1,200 a month
from her disability check, she fell well within
eligibility limits.
When her gas line broke, she turned to the Tuc-
son Urban League, a nonprofit organization that
serves the low-income population. The League
and nine other groups implement the federal
weatherization program around Arizona.
The program’s expansion is well under way.
By July, every state, even those in colder climes
where the season for highest energy bills re-
mains months away, had received at least an
initial infusion of stimulus funding. New York,
for example, got $157 million and expects to
weatherize 45,000 homes over three years.
Arizona, where energy efficiency means the
biggest savings in the hot months, got in line
for allocations early and received a first share of
nearly $23 million in June. The state expects to
weatherize 6,409 homes over three years.
The Tucson Urban League anticipates using
some of that money to increase the number of
homes it handles from 70 a year to 300, says Paul
Harris, an administrator for the nonprofit. To
meet the demand, the League has increased its
work crew members from three to 12. Seven of
the new workers had been
unemployed.The crews
have been handing out fli-
ers in neighborhoods where
they’re working—“trying
to get the word out,” says
Courtney McCoy, a crew
supervisor.

Other energy-efficiency help
For those who don’t qualify for direct assis-
tance, expanded tax credits in the Recovery
Act provide an incentive to make repairs that
can significantly cut utility bills. Previously,
the credit for improvements such as installing
energy-efficient windows, insulation or cooling
systems was 10 percent of the cost. But the Re-
covery Act boosts that tax credit to 30 percent
and triples the overall cap from $500 to $1,500.
By the end of the year, there will be rebates to
consumers who buy Energy Star certified high-
efficiency appliances.
The payoff
As Olivarria waited eagerly at her kitchen table
for McCoy’s crew to finish hooking up her new
rooftop unit, she’d already noticed cooler com-
fort in her living room after the mesh sunshades
were installed. The changes can make a big dif-
ference in utility costs, on average saving hun-
dreds of dollars per year, according to the DOE.
Olivarria was grateful for the chance the pro-
gram provided to escape the financial box famil-
iar to people on a limited income. “You know that
fixing things up would help with the utilities, but
you have to have the money to get started,” she
says. “I can’t wait to see what this saves me.” ;