Environment & Science

DWP $100 million energy savings plan focuses on low-income renters

Electrical Construction Crew completes installation of one of 4,322 ground-mounted solar panels. One of the National Security Administration's three national laboratories is building regional testing centers around the country to field-test hardware for solar companies before their multimillion-dollar solar systems are installed in buildings.
Electrical Construction Crew completes installation of one of 4,322 ground-mounted solar panels. One of the National Security Administration's three national laboratories is building regional testing centers around the country to field-test hardware for solar companies before their multimillion-dollar solar systems are installed in buildings.
LADWP
Sharon McNary |

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The hardest population to reach with energy efficiency assistance are the city’s poorest residents, the low-income people living in apartments.
 
They are already eligible for rebates on efficient refrigerators and light bulbs. But as renters, they can’t take advantage of the kind of energy saving programs available to homeowners – like installing solar panels.
 
That’s why the LADWP board is putting $100 million into a plan to insulate apartments so they use less energy to heat in the winter and cool in the summer. That could lower energy bills for low-income renters, and also create a new source of jobs.

This story is part of Elemental: Covering Sustainability, a new multimedia collaboration between Cronkite News, Arizona PBS, KJZZ, KPCC, Rocky Mountain PBS and PBS SoCal.