Pilot program hopes to help hundreds of Pittsburgh homeowners in high-need areas with energy bills

PITTSBURGH — In honor of Earth Day, Mayor Ed Gainey’s administration announced the launch of a new initiative: “Energize Pittsburgh.” It’s a partnership with Duquesne Light and others to help lower the cost of energy bills.

The price of those bills is something residents Channel 11 News spoke with said has soared.

“I think they are incredibly high and just too expensive,” said Kimberly Rahm.

Energy burden is a critical issue facing many Pittsburgh homeowners.

“There needs to be a cap on utility companies in general — like they should not be able to keep just upping it and upping it,” she said.

Pittsburgh is ranked sixth in the nation for households struggling with energy bills and is ranked second among minority households struggling with those same bills.

Despite Pennsylvania having some of the lowest utility rates in the country, homeowners are paying some of the highest bills due to older, inefficient homes.

“No one who calls our city home should have to choose between being able to feed their families or heating their home,” Gainey said.

Gainey hopes the new pilot initiative will reduce energy bills for hundreds of low-to-moderate-income residents in high-need zip codes.

“Today marks a new beginning in our city as we help some of our most vulnerable residents reduce their energy expenses. The new initiative will start with creating 100 energy-efficient homes by the year 2025,” he said.

The mayor’s assistant chief of staff, Felicity Williams, broke down how they will prioritize residents.

“We are going to start with an existing pool, leveraging existing resources, and as we continue to fundraise, we would hope to pipeline more homeowners into this process,” Williams said.

By 2030 the administration hopes to have 10,000 energy-efficient homes.

So how does the program work? There are three parts: installing solar panels, weatherization and electrification.

Residents told Channel 11 News it’s a start but are curious to see how this program will help working families, and if funding will be made available for residents outside of the high-need zip codes.

“Like everybody is just very frustrated with how things are lately,” Rahm said.

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