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Indiana Declares Weatherization Day, Joins Efficiency Hall of Fame
Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels highlighted the important of the state's Weatherization Assistance Program by declaring February 3, 2006, to be Weatherization Day. The governor noted that since the program began in 1976, the state's Family and Social Services Administration has weatherized the homes of more than 157,000 low-income families in all 92 counties in the states. Read the February 3 Executive Order (PDF 57 KB).
The proclamation was the first in a series of steps Daniels in early 2006 to highlight the importance of weatherization and energy efficiency for consumers to reduce their utility bills. During the winter, the governor also created the Indiana Help Thy Neighbor Heating Fund to provide assistance to families having trouble paying their heating bills. The fund is a cooperative endeavor between the Governor's Office, Goodwill Industries of Central Indiana, and the state's three largest gas utilities. These utilities — Northern Indiana Public Service Company, Citizens Gas, and Vectren — provided a donation of $1 million to the fund, which was supplemented by a grant of $5 million from the Lilly Endowment.
On April 7, representatives from the gas utilities, the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, the Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor, the governor's office, and the Alliance to Save Energy (ASE) held an event in Evansville to induct Indiana into the ASE Energy Efficiency Hall of Fame. They visited a home in Evansville, the Bennet-Roberts residence, that is undergoing weatherization and energy efficiency improvements. Director of the Indiana Office of Energy and Defense Development John Clark said, "The work being done at this house illustrates the things we can all do to reduce our energy costs throughout the year." See the commission's April 7 press release about the Evansville event (PDF 26 KB).
Source: March 2006 edition of the Alliance to Save Energy newsletter e-Fficiency News.