Program to promote energy efficiency draws support in Richmond

RICHMOND

Robert Howlett had no idea how inefficient his century-old home was before a he had it weatherized.

Things were so bad – broken windows, leaking air conditioners, exposed door frames, a leaking gas line – that Howlett said he paid more than $800 a month last winter for heating fuel.

On Wednesday, Howlett spoke before a Senate Commerce and Labor subcommitee in favor of wide-ranging legislation to improve energy efficiency throughout the state. The bill, SB1447, sponsored by Sen. Donald McEachin, D-Richmond, pushes recommendations from the Governor’s Commission on Climate Change, such as requiring electric utilities to reduce energy consumption 19 percent by 2025.

The legislation would ask utilities to establish energy efficiency programs to help residents weatherize their homes, said Sarah Rispin, an attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center. Surcharges would help pay for the initiative, but the cost would be less than those for a new coal power plant, she said.

Howlett had his home weatherized by ElderHomes, a nonprofit that helps elderly, low-income and disabled residents. This winter his oil supply still has yet to run low, he said.

“It was just a blessing,” he said. “Some of the things that they did I couldn’t believe.”