The Alliance for Appalachia

by Carissa Lenfert posted on www.kftc.org

KFTC summer interns Beth Bissmeyer and Ian McHugh have been pounding the pavement, and storefronts, in Madison County this summer connecting with folks in the community around the rising cost of energy

Ian and Beth, both Berea College students, have been conducting a local energy survey and distributing a free energy-efficient light bulb and inexpensive energy efficiency tips.  Their work is a grant-funded partnership project between Berea College and KFTC.

With over 115 responses so far, Ian and Beth found that almost every survey respondent is suffering from rising energy prices, especially families on a fixed income.  In addition, a majority of survey respondents admit that they don’t know where their energy actually comes – but they know it is getting harder and harder to pay the bill.

Many respondents reported that they are already taking steps to reduce their energy consumption, but that the largest barrier they face is how much it costs to make their homes more energy efficient.

Everyone is excited to receive a free energy-efficient light bulb and wish they could do more to cut down on their energy bills.  This survey shows that there is a large need in low and middle-income communities for real assistance to bring energy efficiency into the grasp of those who can benefit the most from it.

-Beth

Beth and Ian continue to collect surveys and give out energy-efficient light bulbs and will write a report on their findings from the survey at the end of the summer.