Heitkamp Weatherizes Grand Forks Home to Highlight Importance of Energy Efficiency in North Dakota
Senator Has Long Supported Energy Efficiency Measures to Help Working Families Save Money, Reduce Energy Consumption
GRAND FORKS, N.D. – January 26, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp today joined the Red River Valley Community Action Agency to weatherize the home of an elderly woman who uses federal heating assistance programs to warm her house.
Energy efficiency measures like weatherization are critical to keeping the homes of North Dakotans like Nadene Hoffart – whose house Heitkamp helped weatherize today – safe and warm throughout the winter months. Increased energy efficiency also translates into savings that can be used on medicine and other necessities.
“Folks like Nadene can cut their heating costs and save real money with something as simple as window caulking,” said Heitkamp. “Every North Dakota family should be able to stay warm this winter while still being able to afford to put food on the table, and some simple steps to weatherize your home could make all the difference – Nadene is just one example. There are also policies that Congress can pass to support homeowners and make it easier and more affordable for them to use energy efficiently. That’s what I’ve been pushing for in the Senate. A true all-of-the-above energy strategy means boosting efficiency and making sure our energy sources remain reliable and affordable well into the future.”
Encouraging energy efficiency is one of the easiest ways to make home heating more affordable, particularly for low-income or older North Dakotans who – like Hoffart – depend on federal heating assistance. Bolstering weatherization and energy efficiency programs, as Heitkamp has been working to do, helps cut energy costs and improve the health of low-income families.
A staunch advocate for efficiency efforts, Heitkamp is a cosponsor of the bipartisan energy efficiency bill that will save consumers money and create jobs. The bill would strengthen building codes to make new homes and commercial buildings more energy efficient, boost energy efficiency in the manufacturing industry, and cut energy use in the federal government – the largest single user of energy in the U.S.
This month, Heitkamp called on U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Julian Castro to facilitate residential Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE), an innovative financing tool making it easier for homeowners to invest in energy efficiency, renewable energy, and water conservation with local government support. She has also urged the president to stay engaged in the Energy Performance Contracting Challenge (ESPC), which allows the federal government to contract with energy service companies to design, finance, acquire, install and maintain new energy efficient equipment at no upfront cost.
In October, Heitkamp announced more than $22 million in federal assistance to help low-income North Dakota families, seniors, and Native American tribes heat their homes this winter season. Specifically, North Dakota families and seniors living in low-income households will receive more than $17 million in federal assistance to help offset heat and energy costs during the state’s coldest months. Additionally, more than $5 million in federal funds is available for North Dakota’s Native American tribes.
This federal support came after Heitkamp’s pressed the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to release these critical funds from the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). Eligible families outside Indian reservations must apply directly to the State of North Dakota to receive LIHEAP funding. For eligible families living on Indian reservations, their tribes need to directly apply to the State of North Dakota to receive LIHEAP funding, which is then distributed to those on the reservation who qualify.
North Dakotans can learn more about home heating assistance eligibility and apply for assistance by clicking here. To ask questions or to receive help filling out an application, individuals not living on Indian reservations can contact their local County Social Service Office. Individuals living on Indian reservations can contact their local tribal offices.
