Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham announced this week that the Department of Energy (DOE) will award $89.4 million to 19 states to weatherize the homes of low-income families to save energy as the nation faces a potential natural gas supply shortfall in the months ahead. The weatherization year for the 19 states took effect July 1.

The latest grants and the $130.6 million that was awarded to 32 states earlier this year have consumed most of the $223.5 million that Congress appropriated for the federal Weatherization Assistance Program in fiscal 2003. The funding for 2003 was down slightly from $230 million budgeted in fiscal 2002, but up from the $153 million allocated for the program in fiscal 2001.

Low-income families spend an average of 14% of their income on energy, compared with 3.5% for the average American, according to DOE. Weatherization reduces an average home’s energy costs by $215 a year, it estimated. The program gives priority to low-income households with elderly and disabled members, and children.

The weatherization program is administered through the states and 970 local agencies. Every state, the District of Columbia, the Navajo Nation and Inter Tribal Council of Arizona will receive weatherization grants this year, the DOE said.

Some of the largest grant recipients this year will be Pennsylvania ($14.5 million), Illinois ($13.6 million), Minnesota ($9.7 million), Wisconsin ($8.4 million), and Missouri ($5.9 million). It’s estimated the grants will provide weatherization for approximately 93,750 homes nationwide this year.

The program performs energy audits to identify the most cost-effective, energy-saving measures for each home, which typically include adding insulation, reducing air infiltration, servicing the heating and cooling systems and providing health and safety diagnostic services. For every dollar spent, weatherization returns $1.30 in energy savings over the life of a weatherized home, the DOE said.

President Bush has asked Congress to allocate $288.2 million for the program in fiscal 2004, an increase of $65 million over this year.

In addition to the weatherization grants, Abraham noted that the DOE has begun a new energy-saver web site at www.energysavers.gov. “From tips on insulating a home, to heating and cooling, and to buying new windows, the web site serves as a consumer resource to start cutting home energy costs,” the department said.

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