California has stepped up its pace in weatherizing low-income homes with federal money and done so at a lower cost than planned. Yet, unless some municipal governments and a state department move more quickly, the state may have to return $37 million to the federal government granted under the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act. That’s the conclusion of a California State Auditor report issued July 11. The Auditor found that since the funds were granted in 2009, the Department of Community Services and Development, and its contractors, weatherized 26,807 homes through April 30--at a cost of $2,539 each. That’s less than the $3,660 each originally expected. The department has yet to expend $90 million of the $158 million of the federal government award, according to the Auditor. It only has until March 31, 2012, to do so. To avoid returning unused funds, the agency must weatherize 35,397 more homes--but at its current pace it’s likely to fall 14,750 homes short. Consequently, the community services department wants the federal spending deadline extended. Department spokesperson Rachel Arrezola said that the state met its previous benchmark for weatherization late last year and now has committed all of the federal Recovery Act money. She said the state agency is more carefully monitoring its contractors to make sure they keep up the tempo on weatherizing homes. Part of the problem stems from the protracted time the cities of Oakland and San Francisco, as well as the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power, take to use federal weatherization money passed through by the state department. The Auditor found that this past spring the three had barely begun putting the money to use. LADWP, for instance, had weatherized only about 10 percent of the homes that are supposed to be covered by the money. An LADWP spokesperson pointed out it takes time to start up a new program, adding that now the muni has trained 67 employees on weatherization and expects to meet its goal of completing work on 2,544 homes by March 31, 2012. The Auditor also noted that work was delayed by the length of time it took for the Community Services and Development Department and the federal Department of Energy to develop and approve a new weatherization protocol aimed at saving more energy in low-income homes than saved by typical weatherization jobs in the past. Now, according to the state department interim director John Wagner, DOE is establishing additional requirements that threaten to further slow weatherization work. In a July 8 letter to DOE, he wrote that the new mandates “present significant barriers and further impede our ability to meet production projections.” Among the new requirements are greater financial matches on Recovery Act projects with other federal weatherization money given to states, which is in short supply. Wagner wants a one-year extension from DOE to complete the weatherization work. A conference call is scheduled with the federal agency to discuss his request next week. Arrezola said that California is not alone when it comes to slow spending. She noted that according to the House Appropriations Committee, states across the nation are expected to have an estimated $1.5 billion total in Recovery Act weatherization funds remaining come 2012. The Recovery Act provided a total of $5 billion to the states for low-income home weatherization.
