NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Nashville is launching a pilot program that will send energy experts into homes damaged by last winter’s ice storm, with the goal of trimming power bills for low-income families and making those houses sturdier before the next round of severe weather.
Mayor Freddie O’Connell announced PowerBack Nashville on Friday. The effort pairs Metro Nashville with the Tennessee Valley Authority, the energy services firm CLEAResult and two local nonprofit groups, and it is aimed at selected low-income households whose homes took damage in Winter Storm Fern.
As many as 100 households will get a professional energy assessment, along with free money-saving items like LED bulbs and faucet aerators and guidance on other help that is available. A smaller group of 25 to 30 homes will receive the full treatment at no cost: insulation, air sealing, HVAC work and duct cleaning.
City leaders hope to begin the projects within about a month and wrap them up by early April. The program grows out of work by the Mayor’s Office Innovation Team, which earlier ran Insulation for Impact, an effort with Nashville Electric Service, TVA and NeedLink that added free attic insulation to homes of older residents.
More than 60 homes were insulated through that earlier program, saving roughly 25,000 kilowatt hours of electricity. Families in that smaller test have been saving around $15 a month on their power bills, according to the city team.
O’Connell has said he would like to believe a storm that severe comes along only once in a generation, yet Metro wants tools that go beyond help paying bills. Separately, the Metro Action Commission keeps offering heating and energy aid for low-income residents.
Residents can apply through an online form on the city website. Applicants answer a few short questions, and program staff follow up with those who appear to qualify.
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