LITTLE ROCK — When Della Poyson of Fayetteville asked for help with her electricity bill last fall, she learned about a federal program that pays for home improvements intended to reduce her energy use.
Poyson received 25 energy-saving light bulbs, a programmable thermostat, insulation around outside pipes, caulking around her fireplace and repairs to skylights that let cold air inside. She also received five carbon monoxide and smoke detectors.
Federal stimulus funding allocated to agencies across Northwest Arkansas helped hundreds of residents such as Poyson through the federal Weatherization Assistance Program.
Agencies such as the Office of Human Concern in Rogers either hired crews or contracted with area firms to make improvements to houses and mobile homes to seal doors and windows, to make repairs that improve health and safety, and to reduce energy usage.
“It’ll help me by saving on my light bill,” said Poyson, 72, who said the bill sometimes amounts to about a quarter of what she receives from Social Security. “I can put more aside for ... other bills.”
Two auditors from the Office of Human Concern conducted a final inspection of her home Thursday.
It’s too early to know how much the improvements will save on her electricity bill, but Poyson said she already has noticed that her living room doesn’t get as cold.
The Office of Human Concern’s weatherization program has reached more than 400 homes so far in Benton, Carroll, Madison and Washington counties, said Contracts Manager Richard “Craig” Caywood. Caywood said he hopes to finish 455 homes by the end of March, when the office’s program is scheduled to end.
“We’ve been able to help a lot of folks a lot,” Caywood said. “We’ve gone into some places that were fairly desperate. The goal is to plug those drafts and reduce those utility bills.”
The federal budget typically includes an annual appropriation for the U.S. Department of Energy’s weatherization program, but the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provided a three-year boost in funding, and allowed states to augment existing programs, said Bill Gibbons, spokesman for the Department of Energy. The stimulus bill provided $5 billion for the federal Weatherization Assistance Program, including $51.4 million for Arkansas.
Over three years, the stimulus-funded Weatherization Assistance Program paid for improvements to 750,000 homes of low-income families, Gibbons said. With an average savings of $400 on heating and air-conditioning bills in the first year, the program is estimated to have saved $300 million in energy costs nationwide for that first year.
The deadline for spending all stimulus money is Sept. 30, 2013, but the deadlines may differ for weatherization grant recipients depending on their end dates, he said.
For a low-income family, reducing energy costs can provide more money for food or other needs, Caywood said.
The Rogers nonprofit’s stimulus-funded weatherization program began in May 2009 with $3.2 million, and has spent $2.7 million thus far, Caywood said. The program provides an average of$4,500 in renovations and improvements to homes.
The Office of Human Concern has another weatherization program that has existed for 26 years and receives federal funding each year. An in-house crew oversees the long-standing weatherization program, while a different staff manages the program supported with stimulus funding.
Those remaining on the waiting list when the stimulus program ends will be transferred to the other program, Caywood said.
In a typical year, the federal weatherization program reaches 120-140 low-income homes in a nine-county region served by Universal Housing Development Corp. in Russellville, said Pat Atkinson, executive director. Atkinson anticipates the stimulus weatherization program will reach 544 homes in nine counties over the three years.
More families were eligible for the program because the stimulus bill raised the income limit from 125 percent of the poverty line to 200 percent of the poverty line, which is $44,100 for a family of four, Atkinson said. The stimulus bill also allowed for up to $6,500 in improvements for most homes, up from $3,000 in the regular program.
However, with the stimulus funding nearing an end, Atkinson still has 1,080 applications on a waiting list, she said.
“They’re going to be waiting for a while,” she said.
Since September 2009, Ozark Opportunities, a nonprofit based in Harrison, has weatherized more than 320 homes in a six-county region, with an expectation of reaching another 50 or more houses or mobile homes through the stimulus program, said Randy McCallister, weatherization director for Ozark Opportunities.
In 2009, Ozark Opportunities received $2.94 million in stimulus funding to weatherize homes for low-income households. McCallister estimates the agency has up to $350,000 remaining.
“We can go in and really improve the quality of life,” he said.
Like the other agencies, the Harrison nonprofit selected homes through an application process that assigns a higher priority to homes with elderly residents or children, on homes spending 14 percent or more of their monthly income on energy bills, and for those with the lowest incomes, McCallister said.
The demand was strong. About two years ago, Ozark Opportunities had a waiting list of 600 homes, some of which were waiting up to two years for improvements, McCallister said. With permission from state officials, the agency stopped accepting applications on Dec. 31, 2010, when the waiting list had 400 homes. The list is down to 70.
Arkansas, Pages 7 on 02/13/2012