Admin, Author at Energy Outreach Colorado

New HVAC units installation for Mercy Housing project

Energy Outreach Colorado receives Green Hope Award from Mercy Housing Mountain Plains

September 22, 2023 September 22, 2023

Energy Outreach Colorado (EOC) has received the 2023 Green Hope Award from Mercy Housing Mountain Plains (MHMP). Max Kaye, Multifamily Senior Program Manager, accepted the award on behalf of EOC at last night’s Power of Home event hosted by MHMP. EOC has worked on 12 properties as part of the Green Hope program and continues …

Energy Outreach Colorado receives Green Hope Award from Mercy Housing Mountain Plains Read More »

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CO Targets Apartment, Commercial, Industrial Building Climate Pollution

September 11, 2023 September 11, 2023

Public News Service | Eric Galatas Colorado wants to reduce climate pollution from apartments and commercial buildings 50,000 square feet and larger, but there is growing concern retrofitting buildings could exacerbate the state’s affordable housing crisis if costs are passed along to tenants. Jennifer Gremmert, president and CEO of Energy Outreach Colorado, said as climate …

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Energy Outreach Colorado receives exceptional 4-star rating from Charity Navigator for 22nd consecutive year

August 30, 2023 August 30, 2023

Energy Outreach Colorado (EOC) received a score of 97%, earning a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator for the 22nd consecutive year for demonstrating strong financial health and a commitment to accountability and transparency. EOC’s exceptional score is calculated from multiple beacon scores, weighted as follows: 80% Accountability & Finance, 10% Leadership & Adaptability, 10% Culture …

Energy Outreach Colorado receives exceptional 4-star rating from Charity Navigator for 22nd consecutive year Read More »

EOC Executive Director Jennifer Gremmert

Perspective: New air rules – higher housing costs

August 30, 2023 August 30, 2023

by Jennifer Gremmert | Gazette.com/Opinion

Utility Costs Are Rising: How To Pay Your Bills As Heat Wave Surges and Relief Agencies Struggle To Meet Demand

July 31, 2023 August 30, 2023

AOL.com | Dawn Allcot Electric bills could surge by 12% this summer, according to estimates from the National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA). By the end of August bills could reach a monthly average of $578, up from $517 last year. In the West and South Central U.S., including Texas, bills could be up to $706 from …

Utility Costs Are Rising: How To Pay Your Bills As Heat Wave Surges and Relief Agencies Struggle To Meet Demand Read More »

A winter of brutal energy bills has left Xcel Energy customers deep in debt

June 23, 2023 June 23, 2023

Colorado Public Radio | Sam Brasch For most Coloradans, springtime has brought much-needed relief from high energy bills. That’s after households watched their gas and power costs spike over the winter due to frigid temperatures and high natural gas prices. In some cases, monthly bills doubled or tripled compared to a year earlier. Warmer weather and lower …

A winter of brutal energy bills has left Xcel Energy customers deep in debt Read More »

Ratepayers, Activists Decry Xcel Energy Bill Surges at CO Capitol, Lawmakers Promise to Take Action

June 23, 2023 July 18, 2023

Colorado Times Recorder | Sean Price Environmental groups and Colorado residents gathered outside the state Capitol Wednesday to decry the burden of skyrocketing energy bills and ask state lawmakers to take action. At the rally, two lawmakers promised to introduce a bill aiming to address the rally attendees’ concerns. In December, energy bills spiked in Colorado due to record-cold …

Ratepayers, Activists Decry Xcel Energy Bill Surges at CO Capitol, Lawmakers Promise to Take Action Read More »

Generating Equity

April 11, 2023 June 8, 2023

Spotlight: Denver Business Leaders | Forbes & Fortune EOC shines a light on the home energy needs of vulnerable households across Colorado During the harsh winter months of 2022-2023, approximately 16,000 Coloradans were calling a state helpline every week for assistance in paying their heating bills. “Energy costs were shocking,” says Jennifer Gremmert, executive director …

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EOC receives generous financial support to assist with high energy bill payments

March 1, 2023 July 18, 2023

Energy Outreach Colorado (EOC) is pleased to announce that it has received $1,010,000.00 from a coalition of energy industry partners to support the impact of recent critically high energy costs on vulnerable households. This commitment comes at a time of unprecedented need and will help EOC provide bill payment assistance to more families. Coalition partners …

EOC receives generous financial support to assist with high energy bill payments Read More »

Help Available for Higher-than-Usual Utility Bills

February 23, 2023 June 8, 2023

Public News Service | Eric Galatas As Coloradans continue to experience sticker shock each time they open their utility bill, the volume of calls to Energy Outreach Colorado’s helpline has been off the charts, topping 1,600 calls per week. Michel Infante, energy assistance project manager for Energy Outreach Colorado, said they are processing more than …

Help Available for Higher-than-Usual Utility Bills Read More »

Electrification of affordable housing is a win-win

February 2, 2023 June 8, 2023

Colorado Real Estate Journal | Luke Ilderton Electrification is the replacement of equipment powered by fossil fuels to cook, create heat and produce hot water with equipment that uses electricity. It’s also known as beneficial electrification or building decarbonization, where high-efficiency electric heating and hot water equipment is the priority over less-efficient and expensive-to-operate all-electric …

Electrification of affordable housing is a win-win Read More »

What does Denver’s new building code mean for building residents, owners?

January 13, 2023 June 8, 2023

Denver Gazette | Alex Edwards Despite a major push by foes of fossil-fired energy, Denver’s city council ultimately decided against requiring residents to electrify their homes under the newly adopted 2022 building, fire and green code. Instead, the code changes — the first of three planned updates staggered through 2027 — will apply to commercial and multifamily buildings larger …

What does Denver’s new building code mean for building residents, owners? Read More »

Rising Utility Bills Unsustainable for Many Colorado Households

January 12, 2023 June 8, 2023

Public News Service | Eric Galatas Experts are warning Colorado households utility bills currently making their way to mailboxes are likely to be even higher than the supersized bills people received for November’s energy use. Denise Stepto, chief communications officer for Energy Outreach Colorado, said as energy prices have remained stubbornly high, December brought an …

Rising Utility Bills Unsustainable for Many Colorado Households Read More »

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Namaste Solar and the community donate community solar subscriptions to 400 low-income families

December 19, 2022 July 18, 2023

EIN Presswire | Dave Rizzotto, Namaste Solar BOULDER, CO – December 1, 2022 Solar energy will help power the homes of 400 CO families this coming year that are unable to keep up with utility payments because of the $100,000 raised. Solar energy will help power the homes of 400 Colorado families this coming year …

Namaste Solar and the community donate community solar subscriptions to 400 low-income families Read More »

Connecting CO Health Outcomes to Climate Solutions, Lower Utility Bills

November 29, 2022 July 18, 2023

Public News Service | Eric Galatas A successful program that helps low-income households weatherize homes and lower energy bills is setting its sights on improving the health outcomes of children and older Coloradans at risk of indoor and outdoor air pollution. Ashley Feiertag, director of residential programs for Energy Outreach Colorado, spearheaded its Healthy Homes …

Connecting CO Health Outcomes to Climate Solutions, Lower Utility Bills Read More »

What Makes A Nonprofit Stand Out? Its Leader Sets The Right Tone

November 28, 2022 July 18, 2023

Investor’s Business Daily | Morey Stettner Jennifer Gremmert sought to convince a roomful of utility executives to approve subsidies for low-income consumers in 1996. It didn’t go well. They rejected her argument. “How dare you ask me for this money,” one of them said. “People should pay their energy bill themselves.” “It was shocking to me,” …

What Makes A Nonprofit Stand Out? Its Leader Sets The Right Tone Read More »

young woman in winter hat with scarf pulled over her face

Staying warm: What does an unheated room do to your body?

November 21, 2022 July 18, 2023

Mention deadly cold and I think of polar explorers with icicles dangling from their beards and mountaineers tackling the heights of Everest; of fingers turning black with frostbite and the chilling clutch of hypothermia.

ICLEI USA Announces Awardees of $3 Million ICLEI USA Action Fund to Support Innovative Climate Action. EOC Healthy Homes Program Named a Recipient.

November 16, 2022 August 30, 2023

The three awards of $1,000,000 each will go to non-governmental organizations, who will help U.S. cities to accelerate climate action through projects that are data-driven, highly replicable, and impactful.

An ‘invisible’ crisis: Already behind on utility bills, many Americans face a tough winter

November 7, 2022 July 18, 2023

An estimated 1 in 6 American households are already behind on their utility bills after a scorching summer forced them to run air conditioning more than usual, Wolfe says. He and other experts said people are being forced to make tough choices about balancing their rising energy bills with against medicine, food and gas for their cars.

photovoltaic solar panels sits against blue sky

New solar gardens going up around Denver

October 28, 2022 July 18, 2023

Not the kind of garden you might be thinking of, but the kind of garden where you can harvest energy and donate it to low-income families.

What is energy literacy? Responding to vulnerability in Philadelphia’s energy ecologies

October 27, 2022 July 18, 2023

We use this data to argue that pinning energy literacy to energy vulnerability foregrounds how the knowledge, skills, and practices of relevance to energy literacy change over time.

Community Solar Gardens

October 19, 2022 July 18, 2023

Community Solar Gardens provide a way for households who traditionally could not access solar generation a way to benefit financially from solar power and reduce carbon emissions.

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U.S. Heating Costs Expected To Tick up This Winter

October 14, 2022 July 18, 2023

The forecast expects households that heat with oil or gas to experience an increase in cost of 27 percent and 28 percent, respectively, compared to 2021/22.

Xcel Energy Customers Pay Extra Each Month To Help Those Who Can’t Afford Heat

October 14, 2022 July 18, 2023

Utility rates have once again increased and there’s another charge Xcel Energy Customers may notice.

City and County of Denver Partners, BlocPower and Energy Outreach Colorado, Collaborate to Implement a New Healthy Homes Program

October 11, 2022 July 18, 2023

Press Release | Denver’s Office of Climate Action, Sustainability and Resiliency, BlocPower BlocPower, Energy Outreach Colorado (EOC) and the City and County of Denver’s Office of Climate Action, Sustainability and Resiliency (CASR) have agreed to a three-year partnership as part of the Healthy Homes Program to expand equitable building electrification efforts in the City and County of Denver. BlocPower …

City and County of Denver Partners, BlocPower and Energy Outreach Colorado, Collaborate to Implement a New Healthy Homes Program Read More »

money blowing in the air in front of electric meter

Inflation Reduction Act Good First Step for Low-income Energy Needs

October 10, 2022 July 18, 2023

President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act has been billed as the most significant legislation in U.S. history to tackle the climate crisis, strengthen American energy security, and lower utility bills, and some American households stand to benefit more than others.

young woman looking cold clutching blanket around her

Understanding Energy Insecurity

October 5, 2022 July 18, 2023

Widespread energy insecurity is across the country, the full-scale impacts of it and who faces that burden are still misunderstood.

New Xcel Energy rates effective as of October 1

October 4, 2022 July 18, 2023

Denver 7 | by Colette Bordelon Some customers concerned about increase combined with Time of Use rates As of October 1, Xcel Energy customers likely noticed a new increase on their bill. Xcel Energy said the increase is because of the rising price of natural gas. The Colorado Public Utilities Commission approved the new rates, …

New Xcel Energy rates effective as of October 1 Read More »

December natural gas bills will jump 54% as Xcel passes a stack of price hikes on to Colorado customers

September 26, 2022 July 18, 2023

The Colorado Sun | Article Written by Mark Jaffe The rate increase “is more than concerning, it is frightening,” state consumer advocate says Come this Christmas, Xcel Energy gas customers will get an unwelcome present from the utility — an approximately 54% increase in their monthly bills compared to Christmas past. The hike …

December natural gas bills will jump 54% as Xcel passes a stack of price hikes on to Colorado customers Read More »

graphic of multiple rows of houses with only one house with lights on

Past Due Energy Bills

September 22, 2022 July 18, 2023

One in four Colorado households have past due energy bills. Who is facing energy insecurity and what protections are available to help.

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