Austin Energy staff presented the utility’s income-qualified weatherization programs to the Utility Oversight Committee on Oct. 7, describing recent growth, contractor expansion and workforce training tied to energy-efficiency upgrades.

Richard Genesee, Vice President of Customer Energy Solutions, said Austin Energy has offered no-cost efficiency programs for income-qualified owners and renters since 1982. He reported the utility has weatherized more than 25,000 single-family homes and over 150,000 apartments to date and that 2024 marked an all-time high for multifamily apartments served (more than 10,000 apartments in 2024).

Staff credited program growth to several changes: expanding the contractor pool (single-family contractors increased from six to 18), adding a third-party implementer for multifamily work, simplifying and digitizing the single-family application (now a one-page mobile-friendly form available in English and Spanish), and workforce development partnerships. Staff also noted the program aligns its income standard to 80% of area median family income, consistent with the City of Austin Housing Department’s GoRepair eligibility.

Genesee emphasized health and safety benefits of climate control upgrades and pointed to average energy-bill reductions of about 20% for single-family participants. Multifamily upgrades, staff said, now average 2 to 3 measures per apartment compared with roughly 1.2 measures historically.

Staff described connections to other city programs: referrals to the Housing Repair Coalition for structural repairs (grants up to $20,000 funded by the GoRepair bond) when homes require work before weatherization, and training offerings such as the National Comfort Institute courses for contractors. No committee action was required; staff offered to return with program metrics as work continues.