A year after Hurricane Helene hit western North Carolina — dumping as much as 30 inches of rain and felling thousands of trees — countless homes still suffer from leaky roofs, mold and mildew, and rotting floors.
All that damage doesn’t just threaten residents’ comfort, health, and safety. Unless it’s resolved, low-income households can’t access free energy-efficiency retrofits that could save them hundreds of dollars each year on their utility bills.
Now, North Carolina plans to solve that problem by allocating $10 million to urgent home repair in the region. Officials in the administration of Gov. Josh Stein, a Democrat, hope the funds will aid more than 575 households in the counties most devastated by Helene.
“This effort is going to increase western North Carolina’s sound and efficient housing stock, reduce energy costs for the most vulnerable families and individuals, and make homes safer and more comfortable,” Julie Woosley, director of the State Energy Office, said in a statement.
Drawing on a disaster-relief package passed by lawmakers in the early aftermath of Helene, the home-repair monies will be distributed to a regional government entity and nine community action agencies that implement the federal Weatherization Assistance Program.
Established nearly a half century ago, the weatherization initiative is aimed at families below certain annual income thresholds; for example, a family of four must earn about $60,000 or less to qualify. The program’s services — including sealing leaks around doors and windows, adding insulation, and improving appliance efficiency — benefit hundreds of North Carolina households each year, lowering their utility bills by up to $300.
But the Weatherization Assistance Program only scratches the surface of need for the energy burdened. Because its funds are restricted to minor repairs and mostly can’t be used for major ones such as roof replacement, about one in five families nationwide are deferred from receiving benefits, according to a survey by the nonprofit American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. Of those, 40% never get weatherized at all.
That’s why the newly announced money for western North Carolina households is so vital, said Claire Williamson, energy policy advocate at the North Carolina Justice Center: It will unlock assistance for households that have previously been unable to access weatherization aid.
“It’s not only helping families recovering from Hurricane Helene,” Williamson said, “but also helping these families not be burdened by rising energy costs.”
To be sure, there are several existing efforts to bridge the gap for households that need energy-efficiency retrofits as well as major repairs. Some municipalities have their own fix-it programs, Williamson said, as does the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency.
For Duke Energy customers, Williamson’s group helped win $16 million for urgent home fixes financed by shareholders. But the predominant utility doesn’t serve the state’s farthest-flung counties, including some heavily hit by Helene.
“It’s fantastic that pre-weatherization dollars can be used for people who are members of electric cooperatives,” she said. “Otherwise, these households are getting left behind.”
The $10 million announcement from the State Energy Office comes at a crucial time for weatherization efforts statewide. In 2021, the program got a $90 million boost from the federal bipartisan infrastructure law — funding not yet swept up in the Trump administration’s assault on clean energy and energy efficiency.
After months of planning, the Stein administration says those funds will be deployed starting in January and spent by the end of the decade, with hopes of serving around 2,000 households annually. The plan includes up to $12.6 million for major health and safety repairs.
“It’s such a great sign that the state is dedicating funds to this issue,” Williamson said. “When homes are more efficient, it helps benefit the rest of North Carolina,” she added. “They’re lowering energy use and lowering their impact on the grid.”
