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Energy Advisor Program, Tri-County Action Program

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To help families live in their homes more comfortably, Tri-CAP launched Tri-CAP’s Energy Advisor program. The Energy Advisor Program serves low to moderate-income households, eligible for the Energy Assistance Program, making visual inspections, providing budgeting, resources, and referrals working to achieve the following goals:

  1. 10% of Households will experience a 10% - 30% reduction of household energy usage
  2. Provide energy conservation education so that 60% of program participants are able to identify how they can conserve energy
  3. Provide budget counseling so that 45% of program participants gain an increased understanding of financial stability
  4. Reduce the number of fuel crises events to 30% of households

In the first year of operation, from May 2015 through September 2015, Tri-CAP Energy Advisors provided service to 67 households. The next program year, October 2015 – September 2016, the program served 200 households. The 2016-2017 goal, with the planned hire of a second Energy Advisor, is 350 home visits.

Tri-CAP measures Energy Advisor Program results, finding outcomes by comparing pre-program data to consumption data for the year following program assistance while adjusting for weather severity. The first program year, May 2015 through September 2015, 50 households had pre-program data available for comparison. The results reported below are the outcomes from those first 50 households.

  1. 70% of households experienced a reduction in their heating energy and electricity consumption up to an improvement high of 45%.
  2. 100% of the households received energy conservation education.
  3. 45% of households increased their understanding of financial stability by working on a household budget. While 45% is the stated program goal, Tri-CAP Energy Advisor Program adjusted their budget process in October 2016 and have had 100% success in the first two months of this program year.
  4. Fuel crisis events were reduced by over 50%.

The Energy Advisor Program enabled five, fixed income, senior citizen families to continue living in their homes. Without the resources and referrals provided by The Energy Advisor Program, these families would not have been able to continue to live in their homes.

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