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Stimulus money could help you save on home energy costs

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By John Nolan, Staff Writer Updated 11:55 AM Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Federal economic stimulus funding could help you save money on home energy costs or help you get a job.

More people will get access to energy-efficiency programs with the infusion of stimulus spending, and those people can expect to see lower home energy bills for years to come.

Stimulus-funded home insulation and other efficiency improvements could reduce household energy consumption, excluding usage for transportation, by anywhere from $64 to $98 annually between 2009 and 2030, the federal Energy Information Administration said in a new long-term forecast.

States like Ohio that have longer heating seasons could improve on those savings, said Dave Rinebolt, executive director of Ohio Partners for Affordable Energy. His organization and other consumer agencies are under pressure to train enough crews to provide weatherization services to meet the demand, Rinebolt said.

The Dayton-based Community Action Partnership expects to hire up to 50 employees to do weatherizing work in homes. The jobs start at $10 an hour, agency spokesman John Bennett said Tuesday, April 21.

Applicants for the jobs should call the Job Center in Dayton at (937) 225-5627 or go to www.greaterdaytonworks.com.

The beefed-up effort to make homes more heating and cooling-efficient will help trim the nation’s energy appetite between 2009 and 2030, the Energy Information Administration said in assessing the effect of the stimulus spending.

The stimulus legislation allocates $9.45 billion countrywide for programs to improve insulation in homes of low-income people. That could translate into between $12 million and $18 million to be made available later this spring through the Community Action Partnership, which would allow weatherization of 1,800 homes during the next two years, Bennett said. The agency expects to find out the amount in May.

Eligible for the program are residents earning as much as 200 percent of the federally defined poverty level — up to $44,100 annually for a family of four, Bennett said.

Under an additional program that Vectren Energy Delivery of Ohio is funding, weatherization is available for a family earning up to 300 percent annually of the poverty threshold, or up to $63,000 for a family of four.

Dayton Power and Light Co. is examining federal rules to apply for stimulus dollars for automated metering and related technology that would more accurately identify electricity use patterns and possible savings for customers, said Art Meyer, a DP&L senior vice president. The stimulus program is providing $4.5 billion for such projects, which would take years to put in place.

For more information

Community Action Partnership, appointments for the home weatherization program: Call (937) 341-5000 or (800) 617-2673.

To see the full Energy Information Administration report online, go to: http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/servicerpt/stimulus/pdf/sroiaf(2009)03.pdf

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