PSE gets additional funds for low-income weatherization
Published 3:37 pm Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Low-income weatherization funds for qualifying PSE customers will more than double next year as a result of the utility receiving more than $2.1 million from the 2005 Enron settlement reached with the Washington State Attorney General’s Office.
The funds will be added to the $3.25 million budgeted in 2010 by PSE for the utility’s Low-Income Weatherization Program, which helps qualifying customers save money by upgrading their homes with insulation, duct sealing and weather stripping. In 2009, PSE budgeted $2.5 million for this program.
“We’re thrilled that PSE will be able use the funds from the Enron settlement to help more of our low-income customers weatherize their homes by making more significant repairs than we can generally offer,” said Cal Shirley, PSE vice president of Energy Efficiency Services. “The additional program funds will now enable us to make extensive repairs to mechanical ventilation, floors, roofs, and electrical wiring that are often necessary before installing weatherization items like insulation, duct sealing and weather stripping.”
Washington state settled with Enron in 2005 over its manipulation of the market during the energy crisis of 2000-2001, with restitution being made earlier this month. A total of $6 million is being distributed to Washington state utilities to reduce heating expenses for low-income households and support weatherization programs that improve heating efficiency.
PSE, Washington state’s oldest and largest local energy utility, received the largest percentage of the distribution based on the number of customers it serves: more than 1 million electric customers and nearly 750,000 natural gas customers.
Locally, PSE’s Low-Income Weatherization program is administered by the King County Housing Authority.
