City, Duke Energy Ohio Pilot Energy Efficiency Program for Income-Eligible Renters

65 local families benefit from first phase of WarmUp Cincy

CINCINNATI – The City of Cincinnati and Duke Energy Ohio have partnered on WarmUp Cincy, a 90-day pilot program to provide energy efficiency services and educational opportunities to dozens of income-eligible renters in the city.

Currently, Cincinnati has the eighth-highest energy burden for low-income households in U.S. cities. There are several energy efficiency programs in Cincinnati, however most focus on homeowners. This pilot will extend needed services to income-eligible renters who live in multifamily dwellings.

“This program fills a void for our most vulnerable populations by providing residents with direct assistance to keep their families warm,” said Mayor John Cranley. “Choosing to pay a heating bill or groceries is no choice at all. This assistance will help ease that burden.”

“Any time we can assist our customers in need with saving energy and money, we know that’s a win-win,” said Amy Spiller, president, Duke Energy Ohio and Kentucky. “We look forward to seeing this program’s ability to make a difference for those customers in apartment buildings who will truly benefit from this partnership.”

The City is working with Community Action Agency, People Working Cooperatively, Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance, and American Cities Climate Challenge to implement the pilot. WarmUp Cincy will serve 65 families with household incomes at or below 200% of the federal poverty limit and address issues of energy burden, resilience, and programmatic service gaps in Cincinnati for similarly income-eligible families. Enrolled families will receive a home energy assessment with an accompanying family energy strategy, base level energy efficient upgrades, tips to reduce energy costs, an education workshop on reducing energy consumption, and financial support, where necessary, for reconnection assistance.

Cincinnati is one of 25 cities selected to participate in the American Cities Climate Challenge, an effort to resource cities to take strong action to reduce pollution that contributes to climate change and impact public health. As part of the challenge, the city has pledged to take bold action to reduce emissions from its transportation and building sectors. WarmUp Cincy is an important part of the City of Cincinnati’s response to the challenge.

“Community Action Agency is excited about working with the City on this innovative program,” said Mark Lawson, CEO of Community Action Agency. “It will provide yet another tool for our clients to improve the quality of life for themselves and their families.”

“People Working Cooperatively is looking forward to adding our expertise to this new program,” said Jock Pitts, President of People Working Cooperatively. “We have a long history of providing critical home repairs and services for low-income homeowners and this is an opportunity to focus on renters who need help addressing energy efficiency challenges.”

“The Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance is excited to partner with the City of Cincinnati on this important project,” said Rob McCracken, Director of Operations for the Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance. “The study we recently completed examining the impacts of energy burden throughout the city illustrated the prominent role this issue can play in improving the quality of life for low-income families.”

Following the pilot, the City of Cincinnati will work with program partners and participants to develop a strategy for enhancing the program including scaling up to reach more renters in need of these services. Additional plans to expand the program include addressing whole-building energy efficiency challenges of multifamily structures.