Initiative Launched to Reduce Energy Burden for Pittsburgh Households
Expected to Improve Homeowners’ Equity leveraging the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), as well as Provide Opportunities to Disadvantaged Businesses and workers through the City’s Workforce Hub.
Energize Pittsburgh pilot plan aims to help 100 residents have more energy efficient homes with the potential to save money by layering electrification, weatherization, installation of solar panels, and removal of indoor toxins by end of 2025
PITTSBURGH — In celebration of Earth Day 2024, Mayor Ed Gainey along with Duquesne Light Company (DLC), Rewiring America, Action Housing, Allegheny Conference on Community Development, Rebuilding Together Pittsburgh, Riverside Center for Innovation, Sustainable PGH, and Partner4Work announced a unique pilot program has the potential to lower residents’ energy bills, improve air quality in homes and neighborhoods, reduce the region’s carbon footprint, and stimulate economic growth.
Energize Pittsburgh is a pilot program designed to help low-to-moderate income, singleparent homeowners, in Extreme Need and High Need neighborhoods spend less household income on utilities while improving homeowner equity. The goal is to reduce the energy burden of these households in Pittsburgh that face high climate vulnerability. This will be made possible through incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
“Energy burden – the percent of a family’s income they spend on energy -- is a critical issue facing many Pittsburgh residents” said Mayor Gainey. “No one should have to choose between being able to see the doctor or paying their utility bills. This new initiative will help our residents become more financially resilient while providing new workforce development opportunities through our workforce hub, and disadvantaged business opportunities.”
Incentives from the IRA provide an opportunity for the City to access the $4 billion available over the next decade to advance energy efficiency, implement electrification, and reduce energy burden for residents. In a balanced approach, that will help communities positively impact the environment, the Energize Pittsburgh Initiative will maximize the impact of that funding by layering the electrification incentives with weatherization, installation of solar panels, and removal of indoor toxins, while providing the tools and resources people need to determine eligibility for grants, loans and other local, state, and federal support.
According to data collected in an analysis conducted by Bloomberg, 53-percent of households in our city’s predominantly Black communities would benefit from the addition of solar panels. Furthermore, many older homes in Pittsburgh would benefit from proper weatherization and appliance updates.
The Energize Pittsburgh Initiative will be administered by local organizations, such as ACTION Housing and Rebuilding Together Pittsburgh. Both organizations are dedicated to helping low-income homeowners live independently and safely in their homes. This effort will also be supported by an i-Team and technical assistance from the Bloomberg American Sustainable Cities (BASC) award. Last month, the City announced their selection in the BASC program. This is the first project to advance helping cities use the tools of innovation to jointly drive climate action and advance racial wealth equity.
“The pursuit of a clean energy future is only possible when organizations share the same mission—to enable the sustained health and prosperity of our region using our collective strengths. Energize Pittsburgh will help us secure a more equitable, healthier future while positioning us for long-term economic growth and success,” said Kevin Walker, DLC’s president and CEO.
In addition to the energy burden reduction, this initiative will help homeowners build equity through the home improvements made. The initiative has also been selected as an official implementation project of the Workforce Hub, ensuring that as we invest in our communities, residents can have a pipeline into good, family-sustaining, jobs, and create more opportunities for our local disadvantaged businesses on a wide-range of projects.
“Pittsburgh has so much to gain with heat pumps and weather-sealing and other clean, electric home improvements,” and said national nonprofit Rewiring America CEO Ari Matusiak. “The Mayor’s commitment today is a win for families who are paying too much to heat and cool their homes, it’s a win for healthier air both indoors and out, and it’s a win for the climate on Earth Day. Forty-two percent of U.S. energy emissions come from what cars we drive, how we heat and cool our homes, heat our water, cook our food, and power it all. Pittsburgh’s commitment will unlock real change for all of us, but most importantly, for the families who need it most.”
While Pennsylvania is considered an energy producer state, Pittsburgh is positioned as the epicenter of a clean energy economy that has and will create thousands of jobs for disadvantaged workers and business as well as billions of dollars in commerce. Residents will benefit from neighborhood homes that are no longer energy burdens and that negatively impact the environment.
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About the various Partners:
Duquesne Light Company
For more than 100 years, Duquesne Light Company has provided safe and reliable electric service to communities in southwestern Pennsylvania. Today, our core values of safety, integrity, dependability, equity and community enable us to serve more than 600,000 customers in two counties, including the city of Pittsburgh. We are committed to safely powering our customers’ lives while playing a leading role in our region’s clean energy transition. Our vision is to create a larger-than-light, clean energy future for all by delivering exceptional results today and boldly harnessing opportunities for tomorrow. In doing so, we can ensure a cleaner, healthier and more equitable community for generations to come.
Action Housing
ACTION-Housing improves lives. Whether it’s through our provision of affordable and supportive housing, or our supportive services programs, we invest in the people and communities in Southwestern Pennsylvania. We empower people to build more secure and self-sufficient lives through the provision of decent, affordable housing, essential supportive services, asset building programs, and educational and employment opportunities.
Rewiring America
Rewiring America is the leading electrification nonprofit, focused on electrifying our homes, businesses, and communities. We develop accessible, actionable data and tools, and build coalitions and partnerships to make going electric easier for households and communities. Rewiring America helps Americans save money, tackle nationwide emissions goals, improve health, and build the next generation of the clean energy workforce. We believe in an abundant, flourishing, climate-safe future, and know that, together, we can realize one.
Allegheny Conference on Community Development
The Allegheny Conference on Community Development is one of the United States’ foremost civic leadership organizations. For more than 75 years, the Conference has been bringing together public and private sector leaders. Through the support of the Regional Investors Council, we are improving the economic future and quality of life of the 10-county Pittsburgh region.
Rebuilding Together Pittsburgh
Repairing Homes. Revitalizing Communities. Rebuilding Lives. At Rebuilding Together Pittsburgh, the focus of our work is helping low-income homeowners – specifically seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities – live independently and safely in their homes.
Riverside Center for Innovation
Engage in activities that cultivate a healthy environment for the region’s diverse entrepreneurs and small business to prosper. Located in a Federal HUBZone, a certified Pennsylvania Enterprise Zone and Keystone Innovation Zone, RCI has established the following outputs for the organization: (1) Provide direct services to start-up/microenterprise businesses and entrepreneurs; (2) Assist in training and educational programs to improve the success rate of entrepreneurs; (3) Form partnerships and collaborations with other entrepreneurial service providers; (4) Focus on the needs of the disadvantaged entrepreneurs; (5) Operate with best practices.
Sustainable PGH
Sustainability is a comprehensive approach that simultaneously integrates social equity, environmental stewardship, and economic prosperity in decisionmaking. Ensuring a sustainable region, community, business, organization – is built to last – requires all three elements. Because sustainability isn’t just one thing, every sustainability journey requires multiple steps. Sustainable Pittsburgh exists to help our region navigate this complexity in strategic and effective ways.
Partner4Work
Partner4Work is the workforce development organization that connects funding, expertise, and opportunities to develop a thriving workforce in the Pittsburgh region. We partner with businesses to source and train the talent needed to grow the region’s economy. We partner with job seekers to break down barriers and open doors to opportunity for careers in growing industries. And we partner with agencies to make an impact in communities, to reach people where they are and set them on the path for a promising future. We partner for information; we partner for impact; we partner for innovation; we partner for inspiration.
