One-on-one energy education program is saving energy, supporting families

United Community Action Partnership offers programs in the key areas of community and family services, Head Start, housing, tax preparation, child care programs, community projects, youth development, and transportation.

We are a grass-roots, private nonprofit that is represented and led by the communities we serve. 

We are governed by a tripartite board that is composed of one-third representation from the consumer sector (low-income individuals), one-third representation from the public sector (elected officials), and one-third representation from the private sector (representatives of business, industry, labor, faith-groups, law enforcement, education and other groups and interests in the community). 

Through this composition, community members are both stakeholders and decision makers in achieving our mission of eliminating poverty by empowering individuals and strengthening communities. 

Through our Home Education and Energy Saving Program, we served 49 low- to moderate-income households in the cities of Dassel, Ghent, Grove City, Hawick, Hendricks, Hutchinson, Jackson, Lake Benton, Lakefield, Litchfield, Lynd, Marshall, Milroy, New London, Olivia, Pennock, Redwood Falls, Sacred Heart, Spicer, Sunburg, Watkins, and Willmar. 

Every participating household also received support through our Energy Assistance Program, which helped cover heating costs.

The program focused on in-home energy education and connecting households with services to improve energy efficiency. When eligible through local utility programs, we also provided appliance replacements.

We partnered with local utility providers, our Weatherization and Energy Assistance programs, and UCAP’s Housing Rehabilitation team to deliver a range of services — including energy counseling, weatherization upgrades, appliance and furnace replacements, water heater replacements, and more.

In addition, we made referrals to Minnesota Housing Rehabilitation and emergency loan programs. This meant some households were able to apply for funding to make critical home repairs.

The special thing about this project is that it provides one-on-one energy education to households, creating a more hands-on approach to energy savings.  

It also allows us at UCAP to connect personally and offer other housing services such as weatherization, to have an even greater impact on savings.

This is a very successful way to partner utilities, energy assistance, weatherization, and CERTs to have an impact on our households. 

We completed 49 projects that included significant leverage sources. In replicating this project, the administrator needs to have access to resources that allow the partnering of funding.  

Other agencies in the state have started to replicate this process in their service area through their local energy assistance and weatherization programs. 

We also intend to continue this project in the future. As next steps, we are exploring a solar garden pilot project with a solar installer to help benefit approximately 40 Xcel Energy households in our service area. 

23 washers, 23 dryers, 39 refrigerators, 14 freezers, 3 window a/c units, 2374 LED lightbulbs, 98 window kits, 98 thermometers, 49 refrigerator brushers, 49 shower heads, 1225 outlet gaskets, and 40 pipe wrap kits. 

Weatherization is completed or in process on 6 houses, 4 standalone projects, and 18 houses are on the waitlist for weatherization.