Philadelphia’s Neighborhood Energy Centers (NECs) are a critical checkpoint for local energy assistance. If you’re experiencing difficulties paying your utilities, NECs have counselors that help you figure out which programs you are eligible for to help pay your utilities and even retrofit your homes, if and when needed. NEC counselors are energy experts who teach workshops that can help community members conserve energy and can go over your energy bills one-on-one during their office hours. Counselors also help clients budget their monthly incomes to better fit their lifestyles.
A few months ago Dr. Kenner interviewed 14 NEC staff members, including four executive directors, to learn more about what happens in the NEC office. Each interview averaged between 1.5 and 2 hours, and covered topics such as how energy counselors help people overcome barriers to assistance, how NECs conduct outreach, as well as the organizational structure and operation of the NEC.
The interviews also covered the impacts of the pandemic and the utility shutoff moratorium which affected both operations and assistance requests. Some energy assistance funding comes from the federal level. These programs are LIHEAP (the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program) and WAP (Weatherization Assistance Program). Funds for these two programs are distributed to all fifty states each year and the states determine how the funds will be used.
In Philadelphia, households may also receive energy assistance from UESF (the Utility Emergency Service Fund) or the local utility companies. Utility companies also provide their own assistance in addition to the federal one. PGW has the Customer Responsibility Program (CRP), PECO has the Customer Assistance Program (CAP) and the Philadelphia Water Department has the Tiered Assistance Program (TAP).
In the interviews, NEC staff members talked about how customers can apply to each assistance program. In almost all the interviews NEC staff members noted that the income guidelines were the greatest obstacle faced by those seeking assistance. In one NEC counselor’s words:
"I would like those income guidelines to reflect, realistically, what people's needs are. The cost of living is disproportionate in so many ways. And honestly, when I look at people's incomes, especially my seniors, I'm like, "I know you're not ... There's no way you're making it." And I think those are the hardest budget counselings for me to do"
Although the pandemic did not immediately increase the demand for assistance, due to the utility shutoff moratorium, NEC counselors were seeing clients with bill amounts higher than they had seen before in their years of work. In some cases, this was because people stopped coming into the office due to COVID-19 risks. Of course, the pandemic also revolutionized the way in which NECs dispense their services. Although in some ways switching to appointment based and virtual services placed additional burdens on some NEC counselors and individuals seeking assistance, it simultaneously created a new avenue for individuals to obtain assistance.
As a result of the pandemic, outreach efforts had to be doubled in order to make up for the diminished foot traffic into the NEC offices. Less foot traffic can also be attributed to utility companies contacting customers directly including by independently sending out LIHEAP applications. In some cases, the utility companies sent customers applications for the wrong funding year, which delayed customer assistance and was only remedied after seeking help from the NECs. When people receive applications in the mail, rather than speaking to a counselor, customers may not learn about other programs they may qualify for.
Why is it important to keep NECs functioning? NECs are nested neighborhood organizations that are often part of other larger offices that provide aid for housing, childcare, food pantries and other types of services. Some NECs are part of organizations that hosted vaccination clinics and heavily campaigned to provide accurate information about public health. In other words, NECs are critical hubs for neighborhoods. They are brick and mortar communities where people can access information, connect with experts, meet neighbors, and attend workshops that foster civic engagement and home health.
Anonymous, "NEC Networks: A tale from energy counselors By Briana Leone", contributed by , The Energy Rights Project, Platform for Experimental Collaborative Ethnography, last modified 30 March 2022, accessed 25 April 2024. https://energyrights.info/content/nec-networks-tale-energy-counselors-briana-leone
Critical Commentary
This article was present on the Fall 2021 TERP newsletter.