Gov. Timothy M. Kaine highlighted Wednesday the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development’s Weatherization Assistance Program, which has allocated $37 million in weatherization funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The allocated funding represents about 40 percent of an anticipated $94 million in weatherization funding for the Commonwealth, enough to weatherize approximately 8,600 homes. Homes that are weatherized typically experience a 32 percent reduction in energy usage.

Kaine, his Cabinet and senior staff performed weatherization work at the home King George County resident Katherine Smith Wednesday as part of President Obama’s United We Serve initiative, which calls for a summer of community service. Kaine and staff joined members of the Rappahannock Area Agency on Aging and a crew from Community Housing Partners to perform the weatherization work.

“The weatherization money from the Recovery Act is putting people to work, saving homeowners money, and exposing dangerously deficient weatherization in the homes of Virginians,” says Kaine. “This kind of immediate impact was the goal of the Recovery Act, but we will also see long-term dividends in the form of reduced energy consumption and reduced impact on our environment.”

CHP, the weatherization crew contracted to work on the Smith home, has experienced a significant increase in demand stemming from the newly available weatherization funding.

CHP has doubled its staff from 15 to 30 and quadrupled its production from about 50 projects during July-September in 2008 to almost 200 during April-June 2009. They have experienced an increase in subcontracting work, purchase of materials, and remedied life-threatening conditions related to heating systems in more than 40 of the households where it has done weatherization work.

“The stimulus funding is helping Community Housing Partners create even more homes that are safer and more energy-efficient, which consequently means a reduced impact on the environment and our clients’ bank accounts,” says Bill Beachy, Vice President of Energy Services for Community Housing Partners. “In fact, since October, 2008, CHP has doubled the number of our crew staff from 15 to 30 employees, almost quadrupled our production from this time last year, provided well over 6,000 hours of training related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and committed weatherization funds and partnered with other local weatherization providers in Virginia to subcontract out over $12 million in Weatherization work around the Commonwealth.”

“Virginia’s weatherization providers have maintained lengthy waiting lists for the weatherization program for some time,” says Bill Shelton, Director of the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development. “With this increase in funding, as well as changes in the eligibility criteria, we expect to be able to provide weatherization services for many income-eligible Virginians who will benefit from lowered utility costs and a greater quality of life.”

The Rappahannock Area Agency on Aging, Inc., a fixture in the community for more than 30 years, serves as the local weatherization provider for the area including King George County. Last year, RAAA weatherized 31 homes and expects to assist 319 families with the Recovery Act funds.

Persons interested in receiving weatherization assistance should visit DHCD’s Website to locate the weatherization provider in their area.