New Orleans City Council energy smart program

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 24, 2008
Contact: John Atkeison, Alliance for Affordable Energy at 504-428-6996
Casey Roberts, GRN at 504-525-1528 ext. 212
Leslie March, Delta Chapter at 985-871-6695, 985-249-1160
Marylee Orr, LEAN at 225-205-1438

On Wednesday, June 25th, The Utility Committee of the New Orleans City Council is poised to set a new tone for recovery with the Energy Smart program. “Recommending the Energy Smart program to the full council sends a strong message to the city and beyond that New Orleans is committed to rebuilding sustainably.” says Karen Wimpelberg, Board President and Director of Regulatory Affairs of the Alliance for Affordable Energy. “The Energy Smart Program makes it possible for residents and small business owners to be more energy efficient by just picking up the phone and calling the Energy Smart Program.” “As residents of New Orleans, we are all concerned about our rising utility bills,” says Casey DeMoss Roberts, a new homeowner, who works on Global Warming issues for the Gulf Restoration Network. “With help from this program, you can update your home to be more energy efficient and the upgrades are paid for by your utility savings. The cheapest kilowatt hour is the one not used.”

What will the Energy Smart program do?
* Provides education and informational resources that are needed to make your home more energy efficient and lower your bills.
* Provides a list of certified contractors with the training to do reliable work and quality assurance to ensure the job is done right.
* Serves 2,800 homes and businesses per year.
* Includes a special program for low and fixed income residents which saves these citizens even more.

Who pays for Energy Smart?
* A small 1 mil charge on your electric bill (1 tenth of a cent per kilowatt hour) establishes the informational resources, personal energy efficiency consultations, and quality assurance for the program.
* For the average residential costumer (using 1,000 kilowatt hours per month) the cost will be about $1 per month – which can be saved by changing just one frequently used light bulb to an efficient compact fluorescent bulb.
* Additional private capital financing for the energy efficiency improvements is leveraged through the energy savings.
“We need this Energy Smart program now, particularly as people are still rebuilding,” says Leslie March, Conservation Chair for the Delta Chapter of the Sierra Club. “This program saves the average person money and it creates good jobs. Please pick up the phone now and call your city council person and let them know that we need this program.”

The Say Yes to Clean Energy Coalition’s mission is to promote clean energy sources for Louisiana by advocating for energy efficient solutions and clean alternative energy resources like wind and solar. The Coalition wants our public officials to protect our families and communities by saying No to generating power with dirty coal and nuclear.

Our member organizations are:
Alliance for Affordable Energy- Creating fair, affordable, environmentally responsible and community based energy policies for Louisiana and the nation since 1985.
Delta Chapter of the Sierra Club- Over 3,000 of your neighbors supporting the work of the Sierra Club in Louisiana. We advance the cause of protecting Louisiana’s environment in a variety of ways, in addition, we encourage our members to get outside and enjoy our beautiful planet.
Gulf Restoration Network (GRN)- is a network of environmental, social justice, and citizens’ groups and individuals committed to restoring the Gulf of Mexico region to an ecologically and biologically sustainable condition.

Louisiana Environmental Action Network- LEAN is a statewide umbrella organization which networks with over one hundred member organizations and several thousand individual members. It works to improve the environment by providing support and resources required to accomplish environmental goals.