To all those impacted by high energy costs in the state of Connecticut, here is a list of resources available:
UniteCT. If in need of Emergency Assistance for electricity or rent, the UniteCT provides up to $15,000 of payment assistance for Connecticut households financially impacted by the COVID-19. Application details and further information can be found at the program website.
https://portal.ct.gov/DOH/DOH/Programs/UniteCT
Connecticut Energy Assistance Program (CEAP). To anyone having trouble paying home heating bills, the Community Renewal Team can work with you to complete the Connecticut Energy Assistance Program application. The deadline for all eligible households to apply for the CT Energy Assistance Program is May 31, 2022. Further details can be found on the program website.
https://www.crtct.org/programs/basic-needs/energy-assistance/
Community Renewal Team (CRT). One way that energy bills can be reduced is through enrollment of the Community Renewal Team Weatherization Program, which can make a home or apartment more energy efficient. CRT Weatherization is offered to all residents of Connecticut, regardless of income level. This service is free for qualified households. Further details can be found at the program website.
https://www.crtct.org/programs/basic-needs/weatherization-services/
Operation Fuel. If assistance is needed to help pay utility bills, Operation Fuel provides emergency energy and utility assistance to Connecticut households facing financial crises. Types of assistance can vary between year-round energy assistance, homeless intervention and prevention, and water assistance. Program application and further details can be found on the organization’s website.
https://operationfuel.org/gethelp/
The Home Energy Soluctions. The Home Energy Solutions – Income Eligible (HES – IE) program is a free in-home energy efficiency service designed to help lower energy bills by making homes more comfortable and energy-efficient. Further details can be found on the program website.
https://www.homecomfortpractice.com/home-energy-solutions-income-eligible/
LEAD Tool is an online interactive platform for data visualization, exploration, and creating profiles across national, state, county, city, or census tracts. LEAD collected data on household income, energy expenditure, fuel type households used, housing age, occupancy status, and housing type.
https://www.energy.gov/eere/slsc/low-income-energy-affordability-data-lead-tool
It makes comparing energy burden and other related characteristics in all geographic regions easy. Below are the tips for everyone interested in researching on energy burden by providing our project analysis on Hartford and Upper Albany neighborhood as an example.
Tips for reading above exported graph:
- Selecting an income group (E.g., 0%-30% of State Median Income)
- Locating a geographic region (E.g., City of Hartford)
- Finding household’s average annual energy burden (E.g., average annual energy burden of electricity 12% and gas 8%, total average annual energy burden 20%)
- Finding households’ average annual energy cost (E.g., average annual energy cost is around $3.5k)