Title
Recommendation to Develop a Home Electrification Pilot Project for Low Income Households Using Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Funds. (City Manager 10021032)
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Jennifer Ott, City Manager
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Through the Energy Efficiency & Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) program, the City of Alameda (City) is expected to receive $133,250 in formula-based grant funds. The funds must be used on a project that reduces carbon emissions, improves energy efficiency, or reduces energy use. Staff recommends the funds be spent on a pilot project to provide financial support for the electrification of homes occupied by low income households in Alameda.
The goal of the pilot is to prevent displacement, preserve affordable housing stock, and support climate goals. The proposed pilot project would expand the City's existing Residential Rehabilitation Program which is administered by the Community Development Department and operated by Habitat for Humanity East Bay/Silicon Valley and Rebuilding Together. The Residential Rehabilitation Program serves low-income homeowners with repairs that keep them in their homes. The pilot project will provide additional funding for electrification upgrades into the larger-scale rehabilitation projects administered by Habitat for Humanity and by upgrading natural gas water heaters to heat pumps or other small-scale interventions when and where Rebuilding Together is performing minor health and safety-oriented repairs.
BACKGROUND
On November 15, 2021, President Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (the Act), which provides $550 billion for roads, bridges, public transportation, water infrastructure, climate resilience, and broadband over fiscal years 2022 through 2026. One program of the Act is the EECBG program, which is managed by the Department of Energy (DOE). The EECBG program will provide $430 million to state, local and tribal g...
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