CUB Helps Redesign Energy Efficiency Program

Sometimes it takes a few years to work the kinks out of a new program, and it looks as though the OLIEE Program (Oregon Low-Income Energy Efficiency Program) will now be able to hit its stride. The OLIEE Program was first negotiated in a regulatory agreement under the aegis of the Public Utility Commission back in 2002 to help low-income natural gas customers weatherize their homes and make gains in energy efficiency. The public purpose funds that pay for the OLIEE project are collected in bills by NW Natural from natural gas ratepayers, and services are delivered primarily by the social service agencies that make up the Community Action Partnership of Oregon or CAPO (formerly known as Community Action Directors of Oregon).

In order to receive weatherization from the community action agencies, a household must be at or below 60% of the state median income level. Last year, 300 houses across Oregon had their homes weatherized under OLIEE, and that’s nothing to sneeze at. But the consensus among those who started the program and monitor it, a group that includes CUB, NW Natural and CAPO, was that we could do better.

There were difficulties with the process, such as the fact that the agencies that managed the program were required to front the money for weatherization and energy efficiency projects from their limited budgets, receiving reimbursement after a process that could last several months. Also, the program was intended to mirror the highly effective weatherization and energy efficiency projects for electricity customers, but did not, which made the two programs more difficult to juggle.

So, about a year ago, conversations began around what could be done to redesign the program for maximum effectiveness. Sitting at the table were the original program designers, along with individual service agencies such as Clackamas County Social Services, Lane County Human Services Commission, and the Community Action Agency of Marion and Polk Counties. And after many rounds of negotiation, the new OLIEE Program was rolled out September 1st, a 3-year pilot program that aims to serve 400 households this year, 525 next year, and 600 the following year. How to achieve these increases in numbers? The answer is pretty simple.

First, the program will begin to mirror more fully the weatherization and energy efficiency programs for electricity customers. This removes layers of complexity from the process and allows agency staff to administer weatherization programs that do not differ significantly from one another. Second, the funds for the weatherization/energy efficiency projects will be paid upfront, allowing agencies to both streamline the process and solidify their financial basis. Finally, the revamped guidelines will allow agencies to pursue a “whole house approach” that takes into account health and safety measures that might undermine the weatherization steps being taken. For example, under the old guidelines tasks were compartmentalized, and a weatherization project might consist of insulating under the roof and within the walls, but a hole in a window or an ill-hung door letting in cold air would have to be paid for with other funds, increasing the program’s complexity and time required. Under the new guidelines, the house as a whole is evaluated and weatherized, achieving the intended energy savings with less wasted time.

The benefit to the families and individuals, many of them elderly, who receive benefits under OLIEE are obvious. Natural gas prices have increased along with the rest of the fossil fuel market and low-income Oregonians whose homes are weatherized will potentially avoid shut-offs in cases of severe financial distress, will save hundreds—perhaps thousands—of dollars on their gas bills, and be more comfortable besides. The value doesn’t stop there, though; increasing the number of homes in our region who can reduce their energy usage also reduces demand on the system as a whole, keeping rates down.

Whether we’re talking about global warming, rising rates, or diminishing oil and gas supplies, there are many good reasons to make sure that our use of fossil fuels is as efficient as it possibly can be, and the revamped OLIEE program takes us several steps in that direction. Remember: energy efficiency is the cheapest way to “acquire” new energy. Successful energy efficiency is a win for everybody.

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