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02/21/2024 02:02 PMPress Release from Town of East Haven
The Town of East Haven was recently awarded substantive Community Partnership Initiative funding by the sponsors of Energize Connecticut; Eversource and Avangrid, Inc., subsidiaries of United Illuminating; Southern Connecticut Gas; and Connecticut Natural Gas. With this funding in place, the HeatSmart East Haven campaign is now being introduced to the town.
In an effort to make energy efficiency affordable and accessible to all, the Community Partnership Initiative grants enable local community groups, non-profit organizations, and municipalities to promote energy efficiency adoption while educating residents and businesses on the energy efficiency solutions available to them.
“These programs are an important step to increasing energy and cost savings for East Haven residents and businesses. Small improvements today can result in savings for years to come,” said Michelle Benivegna, East Haven’s director of administration & management. “We strongly encourage all residents and business owners to take advantage of these programs.”
The grant awarded to East Haven will support outreach to encourage participation in Home Energy Solutions – Income Eligible, as well as Small Business Energy Advantage, in addition to focusing on achieving energy efficiency goals that drive participation in residential and small business Energize Connecticut programs. Specifically, the goals will drive actions that will lead to an increase in homes participating in Home Energy Solutions – Income Eligible and will also increase the participation of small and microbusinesses in low-income and environmental justice areas in Small Business Energy Advantage.
HeatSmart East Haven will connect East Haven residents with utility authorized contractors who conduct the Home Energy Solutions evaluation, which comes at no cost for Income Eligible residents, who may also qualify for enhanced incentives for residential energy efficiency improvements. The HeatSmart effort has been active for several months in the East Haven community by promoting the Home Energy Solutions – Income Eligible program at the East Haven Food Pantry and Social Services. The Community Partnership Initiative funding will allow an expansion of these efforts. In addition, New England Smart Energy Group and Home Comfort Practice, which are the Home Energy Solutions – Income Eligible contractors, will donate $25 to the East Haven Food Pantry for each completed home energy efficiency evaluation.
East Haven Mayor Joseph Carfora strongly supports the campaign.
“The Town of East Haven is excited to announce the kickoff of HeatSmart East Haven,” Carfora said. “Becoming a HeatSmart participant, whether you are a homeowner or renter, is a great first step. This education program will help individuals make informed choices when it comes to their home’s heating and cooling needs [and] connect resources to improve the efficiency and comfort of their home. Business owners can also benefit tremendously from incentivized energy improvements. I encourage everyone who pays a utility bill to take advantage of these programs. Together, we can make a difference.”
East Haven’s Small Business Energy Partnership connects small businesses with utility authorized contractors who perform no-cost, no-obligation energy assessments on commercial facilities with an average 12-month peak demand between 10 and 200kW across the business’s Connecticut property portfolio. Following the conclusion of the assessment, business owners will receive a customized recommendation that indicates how much energy and money could be saved through energy efficiency equipment upgrades. Incentives to cover a portion of the installed cost, as well as zero-interest and low-cost, on-bill financing are also available.
This is the second round of funding that the program has awarded. Last year, the Community Partnership Initiative supported efforts in Bethel, Branford, Hamden, Middletown, New London, Waterbury, West Hartford, and Wilton.
“Programs like the Community Partnership Initiative makes energy efficiency more affordable and accessible to people in the communities we serve, and help work towards a greener economy in Connecticut,” said Penni Conner, executive vice president of customer experience and energy strategy. “We’re proud of the continuous effort by our community partners to help customers lower their energy bills, while spreading awareness about the variety of energy saving solutions that will help their small businesses and local organizations thrive.”
“Energy Efficiency helps customers improve the value of their homes and businesses, increase their comfort, and reduce their carbon footprint,” said Frank Reynolds, president and CEO of United Illuminating, Southern Connecticut Gas, and Connecticut Natural Gas. “With this initiative’s second round of funding, we look forward to reaching businesses and homeowners with new opportunities for energy efficiency projects, and we celebrate the contribution they’re now making to Connecticut’s clean energy goals as we work to achieve a green economy.”
Following their Home Energy Solutions visit, residents might consider further measures such as heat pumps or solar panels. More information about heat pumps is available at www.heatsmartct.org. The PowerSmart campaign offers information about solar energy and battery storage at powersmart.wee.green.
The Town of East Haven and the sponsors of Energize Connecticut strongly encourage residents and businesses to take the first step toward saving money and energy. Residential customers can sign up today for HeatSmart East Haven by visiting www.heatsmartct.org/easthaven or calling authorized contractors with New England Smart Energy at 203-292-8088. Owners of small businesses located in East Haven can call Bob Babcock at 203-444-5047 to learn more. A small business sign-up form will be coming soon to the town’s website home page. For more information on the Community Partnership Initiative, please visit EnergizeCT.com.