This article originally appeared in the Saporta Report Thought Leaders section in August, 2016.
A multifamily affordable housing energy efficiency (EE) program including access to whole-building data was proposed by Southface and the Energy Efficiency for All (EEFA) Georgia team as part of the 2016 Georgia Power Company Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) brought before the Public Service Commission (PSC). Historically, Southface has participated in the PSC Demand Side Management Working Group as an advocate for more EE investment, and has partnered with Georgia Power on EE programs. This year, however, Southface was also an intervener in the IRP proceeding.
Southface and other partner organizations in Georgia joined EEFA in 2015, a national program designed to increase utility investment in EE programming for existing multifamily affordable housing. Southface and the EEFA Georgia partnership designed an EE incentive program for this segment of the market which includes many of Georgia’s low-income residents. In Georgia and metro Atlanta, the multifamily affordable housing EE program is critically important because many individuals, families and households are faced with difficult decisions to either put food on the table or keep the lights on. In 2014, the Atlanta Community Food Bank reported that 76 percent of their client households have had to choose between paying for food and paying for utilities.
Read the full story on the Saporta Report Thought Leaders section.
