How do you implement a successful weatherization program? According to Della Commander, tribal president of Skagway Village in Alaska, strategic planning, engaging community members, leveraging existing resources, and continually evaluating progress are keys to success. This is something Skagway Village would know from firsthand experience. After receiving a $35,800 Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG), the tribe partnered with its regional housing authority to conduct energy audits on 12 tribally owned homes and the tribal community center. The village also directed a portion of the grant toward building local capacity by training two tribal members in weatherization practices. Once the energy audits were completed, the 12 homes became eligible for cost-free weatherization assistance under a preexisting statewide program.

The village began planning how to use the EECBG award in February 2009. The Tribal Council selected energy audits as the first step toward meeting the community’s need to weatherize tribally owned housing. Alaska’s harsh arctic climate and remote location make for some of the steepest heating costs in the country, so increasing residential energy efficiency through weatherization measures can have a significant impact—not only improving living conditions, but also leading to cost savings through reduced energy use. Before weatherization can take place, however, energy audits are necessary to identify and prioritize areas where the biggest improvements can be made.

The first step in the planning process, says Commander, was to “set up a white board with goals, objectives, and timelines.” The tribe then held a series of community meetings to promote the energy audit opportunities to homeowners and generate interest in the weatherization training. Next, the tribe reached out to Tlingit and Haida regional housing authorities for help hiring a licensed energy auditor to conduct the audits, which began in September 2009. Once the 12 homes and community center had been audited, the tribe was able to leverage the Alaska Community Development Corporation’s weatherization assistance program, which provides free home weatherization to qualified low-income applicants. As a result, three of the homes were weatherized by December 2010, just in time for the cold winter season. The tribe hopes to have the remaining nine homes and the community center weatherized in the near future.

Overall, Commander feels the energy audit program was a great success, and the tribe was able to meet all of its plan’s objectives. Commander offers this advice to others considering similar projects: train tribal members to conduct the energy audits and “have a backup plan for the homes that do not qualify as low-income—like putting together energy conservation kits.”

If you have any questions or comments on Skagway Village’s weatherization program, please post them below.

Content for this blog post courtesy of Della Commander, Tribal President Skagway Village, and James Truitt and Kerry Schlichting, Tribal Regional Coordinators, ICF International.