Your Energy Matters

Hundreds of homes across Kentucky will be warmer this winter season thanks to the help of our volunteers. Employees and their family members spent Saturday mornings this autumn to help weatherize the homes of low-income, elderly and disabled customers, so their homes will be ready for the cold weather that's already arrived.

Here's the rundown of our efforts:

Winterblitz – Lexington
On Oct. 15, four KU teams weatherized eight homes in the Lexington area. The 21 volunteers helped by caulking cracks, replace windows and doors and offering winterization information. In total, approximately 100 volunteers from KU and the community weatherized 40 homes. The effort was coordinated with the Community Action Council.

Project Warm Blitz – Louisville
On two Saturdays in November, volunteers from LG&E helped weatherize 80 homes in the Louisville metro area. Forty-six LG&E teams, 149 volunteers in all, participated in the event. In total, 638 volunteers across the city weatherized 275 homes during the 21st annual Project Warm Blitz.

How You Can Help Others
While our weatherization efforts were focused on winterizing homes, Project Warm and the Community Action Council are in need of volunteers year-round. It's a great way to give back to the community, and perfect for students and community groups needing service hours. Just visit Project Warm and Community Action Council for more information.

A Customer Says Thanks...
The best part of volunteering in these winter blitzes is the real connection you make with others. After the effort in Louisville, one of our clients, Mrs. Griffin, contacted Project Warm to express her gratitude to the LG&E team that weatherized her home.

Griffin said she was “amazed and overjoyed that the volunteers went the extra mile to make a difference in her life.” Griffin, who is disabled, said she had not been able to sleep because of noise adjacent to her house, leaving her exhausted each day.

With the help of LG&E volunteers’ weatherizing her windows, and moving her bed to the back of her house, she finally had a good night’s sleep. Griffin said the extra help was “so unexpected and so kind,” that she felt “overwhelmed and blessed.”

Now that's energy that matters.

As the leaves fall and colder temperatures approach, many in our community are helping the area’s low-income elderly and disabled get an early upper hand on winter by weatherizing homes as part of the 21st annual Project Warm Blitz.

This year’s effort takes place over the first two Saturdays in November. I volunteered my time this past Saturday, and was joined by a Project Warm volunteer and a co-worker who brought his teenage son along to help.

This was my ninth time participating in the Blitz, and I encourage anyone who can help to volunteer at some point in the future, as it’s a critical community service that makes a real positive impact on some of our area’s most economically-disadvantage citizens.

You don’t have to be a handy to be effective either, because believe me, I’m one of the least handy people around. Before you even step foot in a home, Project Warm provides training on how to properly hang plastic on interior windows and teaches you other simple weatherization techniques that can even be applied to your own home.

Project Warm estimates that these basic measures help clients save up to 20 percent on heating costs – a significant amount, especially for those who live on a fixed-income.



Although the final homes of the 21st annual Blitz will be weatherized this Saturday, Project Warm’s need for volunteers is year-round. LG&E employees and their families have partnered with Project Warm since the organization was founded in 1982, and we want you to join us.

If you or your organization is interested in performing weatherization work, just give Project Warm a call at 502-636-9276 or visit http://www.projectwarm.org/.

Until next time, keep using energy wisely.

Colder temperatures are just on the horizon, and the folks at Project Warm are giving the community an early upper-hand on winter by conducting a series of free energy management workshops across Louisville, starting this Monday.

LG&E has been a supporter and partner of Project Warm since the organization's inception in 1982. Each year, we help fund their good work and the many effective services they provide the area's low-income elderly and disabled.

In addition, next month's Project Warm Blitz will once again be supported by hundreds of our employees and their families, as we work hand-in-hand to weatherize and prepare homes for winter.

The energy management workshops provide participants with the tips and tools they need to use energy more wisely. They also give you a game plan for attacking those leaks around the house that lead to higher energy consumption and higher bills.

In addition to gaining knowledge, you'll leave with your own free weatherization kit containing plastic sheeting, tape, wall plates, rope caulk, tacks and a conservation tips brochure.

A full list of upcoming workshops is below. You can pre-register by calling the number listed next to each workshop location. Note that pre-registration is not required for the Nov. 9 and Nov. 16 workshops at our LG&E location at 820 W. Broadway.

Visit http://www.projectwarm.org/ and www.lge-ku.com/ee for more information on energy efficiency programs and services.