Rhode Island Public Benefit Funds for Energy Efficiency
Rhode Island's Utility Restructuring Act of 1996 states that costs for low-income assistance and weatherization programs "shall be included in the distribution rates charged to all other customers" and orders the Public Utility Commission to set up a "demand-side management" program in 1997 using the 2.3 mil per kWh specified in the bill.
The Single Family Low Income Services (formerly the Appliance Management Program) is the only program exclusively for low-income households. The program provides ENERGY STAR refrigerators and lighting, cost-effective custom measures to replace inefficient equipment and electric water heating energy efficiency measures. The program targets low-income households that are serviced through Narragansett Electric and is administered by the Rhode Island State Energy Office. The program expected to use about $1.9 million in 2007 to provide services to an estimated 1,180 households.
EnergyWise, a residential energy efficiency program that provides services to Public Housing Authority properties and other low-income multifamily buildings, expected to provide services to 779 low-income participants in 2007 with expenditures of $445,000.
Through another residential program, ENERGY STAR Homes program, about 90 low-income homes were expected to be completed in 2007 with an estimated budget of $286,000.