In a legislative session buzzing about transportation, carbon capping, and clean cars, another energy issue lies below the radar. Fresh Energy’s Daryl Sager is scheduling an informational hearing in mid-April to bring attention to the lack of funding for tribal weatherization assistance in the state.

Minnesota tribes are in desperate need of improved weatherization funding. Native Americans living on a reservation spend more on home energy costs than any other group in the state, according to Sager, and some reservation residents spend up to one-third of their incomes on home energy expenses. He has visited many tribal homes where families cover the windows with blankets in a futile attempt for better insulation.

Minnesota Public Radio’s Ambar Espinoza recently reported on this issue. She visited the Hill family in Red Lake, Minnesota, who received weatherization support as part of the Red Lake Indian Energy Assistance Program. However, the Hills are just one of 1,100 that qualify for assistance. Only 15 families will receive help this season, according to the story.

The tribal weatherization informational hearing will be very important for next year when advocates push for legislation to increase funding. For more information about the hearing (a date has not been set yet) or the need for tribal weatherization programs, contact Daryl Sager.

This entry was posted on Friday, March 28th, 2008 at 11:33 am by Fresh Energy and is filed under Energy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.