Colorado’s arctic cold snap has prompted a group of companies and organizations to provide money for weatherizing nonprofit agencies.
While low-income households have been the traditional recipients of energy aid, homeless shelters and other nonprofit groups are feeling the strain of higher heating bills after serving more clients and staying open longer during cold weather.
The Daniels Fund, the Denver Foundation and the Xcel Energy Foundation have committed a total of $150,000 for a pilot program to weatherize the residential facilities of six metro Denver shelters and assistance agencies.
The program, administered by Energy Outreach Colorado, also will use in-kind services and products from the Governor’s Office of Energy Management and Conservation and Mile High United Way.
“We want to make these buildings more comfortable and safer for the people using these programs,” said Shelly Wallace of Energy Outreach Colorado, a nonprofit energy assistance group.
One of the recipients, Jefferson County shelter operator Family Tree, will get insulation, weatherstripping, three energy-efficient furnaces and four low-energy refrigerators. The $23,000 upgrades are expected to cut energy use by 20 percent.
When the pilot program ends this winter, organizers will analyze the energy savings and determine whether the program should be extended to rural Colorado. They also may decide to use donated funds to help agencies pay their utility bills, Wallace said.
State and federal funding for traditional energy assistance programs in Colorado is down 40 percent this winter from last year’s $63 million, even though the pool of qualified low-income applicants is expected to increase 10 percent this winter.
Staff writer Steve Raabe can be reached at 303-954-1948 or sraabe@denverpost.com.
