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Agencies should have enough funds to make it to winter without a special session, but will need boosted support from the Legislature when they reconvene
August 20, 2008
AUGUSTA – A special legislative task force that was commissioned to develop a plan for the Legislature to help with heating costs this winter met at the State House on Wednesday, to collect information on the resources available through state agencies and what needs they expect to have.
Senate President Beth Edmonds and Speaker of the House Glenn Cummings established the Heat and Energy Emergency Task Force in August so legislative leaders and policy experts could gather throughout the summer and early fall, collect information and come to an early bipartisan agreement on a legislative package to help Mainers get through an expensive winter.
The Task Force’s announcement coincided with the rollout of an emergency plan developed by Governor Baldacci that boosts resources to the state’s efficiency, heating aid and weatherization programs - which the governor’s office has determined will make a special session between now and when the new legislature is sworn in on Dec. 3 unnecessary.
“We appreciate the governor’s early response, and are glad to know that his plan is designed to get us through the fall,” said House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, D-North Haven. “Our goal now is to come up with an informed plan for this winter and beyond that can be the first order of business for the legislature, either in December or early in January.”
Pingree and Senate Majority Leader Elizabeth Mitchell, D-Kennebec County, are serving as co-chairs of the panel, which is made up of House and Senate Democratic and Republican leaders and other lawmakers from policy committees that focus on energy resources. The task force members spent their first meeting receiving the details of that plan and questioning state agencies like the Maine State Housing Authority, the Finance Authority of Maine and the Public Utilities Commission on what programs they offer, the resources they have on hand and how much they think they will need for the fall and winter.
“Our purpose today is to gather as much information as possible,” Mitchell said at the start of the meeting. “To find out what heating resources are available, and what the gaps are.”
Ryan Low, the Deputy Chief of Staff for Governor Baldacci, kicked off the meeting with a brief summary of the governor’s $12.585 million short-term plan - which includes new investments in weatherization, low-income heating assistance, alternative modes of transportation, voluntary alternative work schedules for state employees, business development, training and education. Low described the initiatives in the plan, including funds for another 2,000 home weatherization kits through MaineHousing, $4.25 million to increase the low-income heating benefit to $500 per eligible household and a $3.25 million emergency fund to help families in the event of a fuel oil emergency.
The panel also heard from John Kerry, the director of Maine’s Office of Energy Independence and Security, who presented a report that he developed over the course of the summer with participation from state agencies, environmental and clean energy advocates, oil dealers, transportation industry representatives and lawmakers that offers long term plans for the state to transition toward a more sustainable and affordable energy portfolio. Kerry’s report provided useful background on the heating crisis the state is facing, and offered suggestions for the Task Force and the entire legislature to consider. He also reported that his organization will begin a statewide public relations and information campaign on available resources through the state on Sept. 20.
Kerry projected that most Maine households will be able to make it to December without reaching out for assistance, but would begin to need considerable help around that time.
“In terms of the heating needs, most people will be fine through September and October,” Kerry predicted. “In the late fall and early winter people will go through their personal funds, their friends and family funds, and then start to appeal to general assistance and the state”
The panel asked Kerry to collect information on the average cost of weatherizing a home, and a range of income levels for people who would need weatherization, before their next meeting.
Peter Merrill, Communications and Planning Director for The Maine State Housing Authority (MSHA), said that it’s critical for the legislature to replace the funds forwarded from their agency’s budget for next year in the governor’s plan quickly upon convening for the New Year. He also said that MSHA is working with CAP agencies to get fuel assistance funds administered through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) out to people who need them as soon as possible, but he expects the funds that their agency has available for heating assistance will not begin to run dry until February.
Both Kerry and Merrill’s projections made clear that a proposed special session before December to appropriate state money toward LIHEAP would not be necessary, as they will have enough money to get through the fall and into winter.
“It’s going to be impossible for the State of Maine alone to get through this crisis,” Mitchell said. “We’ll need to call on our partners in Washington,” referring to the Maine Congressional delegation and Congress in general to approve more funds for LIHEAP, which is federally funded.
Merrill said that the Authority manages a low-interest loan program for middle-income households and multi-family units to make efficiency upgrades, and funds are still available for those loans. He said MSHA is prepared to support 500 loans, and currently there are only around 50 applicants under their current program. He also described programs to help low-income households replace inefficient appliances and pay energy bills.
Merrill told the task force that one of the challenges concerning the loan program is that there are not enough contractors to perform the home efficiency audits necessary before a consumer can find out what projects would help them reduce costs or a get approval for a loan. Without enough auditors, weatherization projects will be delayed, and classes to authorize auditors are booked through Thanksgiving.
The panel heard from Tim Vrabel, Deputy Director of the Public Utilities Commission’s Energy Division, on the programs their agency offers to help reduce energy costs for Maine homes and businesses. Vrabel said that the PUC’s programs aim to help people take control of their own energy use and reduce their own consumption.
He said that the PUC manages a call center, and over the past couple of months they have seen “an absolutely phenomenal increase in the calls (they have) received asking about energy efficiency and what people can do.”
Beth Bordowitz, Acting CEO of the Finance Authority of Maine (FAME), focused primarily on programs available for businesses, and said that they have worked with the PUC to increase the maximum amount of loans available for businesses to make major efficiency upgrades at three-percent interest rates. FAME has also set aside funds for projects that would not qualify for PUC funds but still offer efficiencies, and the Authority has seen loans not connected to FAME approved through community banks for commercial projects.
The panel also invited the Department of Transportation (DOT) to present programs that help commuters cut down on costs in the face on high gasoline prices. Department Policy Specialist Susan Moreau said that the DOT is in a good position, thanks in part to recent legislative investments and the governor’s emergency plan, and she focused on programs that impact the state in the short term.
Moreau said that the GoMaine commuter program, which connects commuters traveling long distances with each other and offers vanpools to and from certain communities in the state, has more than doubled it’s enrollment of commuters in recent years - from 3,000 regular commuters to more than 6,500. Moreau said that the governor asked them to increase the public transit program as part of his emergency plan – and by increasing visibility for GoMaine and combining its promotion with the transit program, they can increase overall group and public transportation just by increasing awareness that they exist - without increasing the fleet immediately. She said that since implementing “Free Fare Fridays” through the transit program, rider-ship has gone up by 94 percent.
Moreau also said that the state’s “Park and Ride” parking lots are overflowing as a result of more commuting, and the Department is working with private businesses to offer parking lot space for commuters. They are also working to increase their bus fleet, but that is an expensive endeavor and it takes up to a year to secure a new bus.
The Task Force ended their first meeting with members offering their hopes for what they want to accomplish as a group over the course of their five-meeting schedule. Members expressed an interest in opening testimony to the public and holding discussions outside of the State House, in areas where Mainers are struggling; boosting weatherization resources; bringing in experts to discuss alternative energy resources; and discussing the impact that energy providers’ interstate compacts and reliance on oil and natural gas have on the market for heating fuels and energy.
The Task Force expects to meet again during the week of September 8. In addition to the eight legislative leaders, those appointed to the task force are: Sen. Phil Bartlett, D-Cumberland, chair of the Utilities and Energy Committee and member of the Natural Resources Committee; Sen. Douglas Smith, R-Piscataquis, member of the Utilities and Natural Resources committees; Rep. Jon Hinck, D-Portland, member of the Utilities Committee; Rep. Bruce MacDonald, D-Boothbay, member of the Business, Research and Economic Development Committee; and Rep. Stacey Fitts, R-Pittsfield, member of the Utilities Committee.
Contact:
Travis Kennedy (Pingree) 287-1433
Michael Johnson (Mitchell) 287-1515