| When Sheree Dallas Branch was looking to make a change in positions from her position as deputy secretary for the Wis. Department of Tourism to a position that would allow her to grow professionally and allow her to do something meaningful, she turned to her mentor in state government, Wis. DOA Secretary Michael Morgan. After several discussions -- and an assist from deputy secretary Dan Schooff, they settled on the administrator job for DOA's Division of Energy. While Energy had a similar number of employees -- approximately 36 positions -- Energy had a budget of $160 million, significantly larger than Tourism's. And it had a mission that Branch could be passionate about -- helping low-income families cope with rising energy costs. To Branch, having sufficient heat is the right of every Wisconsin resident. And last year, Energy helped 150,000 Wisconsin residences and the people who live inside of them, to exercise that right. Energy assistance is an important priority for Secretary Morgan -- he's been out in the field to see how the division provides its services-- and he put the challenge to Branch to serve as many people as possible. "I went to my first briefing with Secretary Morgan and I said 'We're great,'" Branch recalled. "'We do this and we do that. And we're the leader in the country.' He said 'Are you telling me there is nothing that you can do better?' I thought 'Of course, of course because you can always improve Sheree.' That's when he challenged me to find efficiencies wherever we can. Where we can be creative in our approach, let's not be status quo. Statewide, we weatherize close to 10,000 homes. We're trying to hit that 10,000 mark at his request because he believes in the program. We feel weatherization is directly tied to energy assistance, meaning that if I live in a house that isn't weatherized, my heating bills will never go down because I don't have the funds to do it or I don't knowhow to do it. But every year, I'll have these high energy bills that I can't pay. So by weatherizing these houses, hopefully, the goal is the energy costs will go down and then maybe some of these families will be able to break that cycle." Energy has three major sources of funds. "One is the federal dollars for the Low-Income Home and Energy Assistance block grant (LIHEAP)," said Susan Brown, Energy's deputy administrator. "We use that under Wisconsin Home EnergyAssistance Program. We anticipate receiving about $70 million in LIHEAP funds this year. We get about $8 million for the U.S. Dept. of Energy for our federal weatherization program. And we get about $90 million from State Public Benefit Fund. That money is collected by the utility companies and paid to the state for use for the low-income bill payment and weatherization program." In Dane County, Project Home weatherized 834 low-income homes last year. Energy Services, Inc. on S. Park Street provided the energy assistance dollars in Dane County. "The statewide average heating benefit is $339," Branch said. "We know that covers 1-2 bills. The statewide average benefit for electric is $248. So there are two benefits you can get, heating and electric." There is another fund, a crisis fund, which seeks to keep people from being cut off from their fuel supply. "There are two components to our crisis program," Brown said. "One is what we refer to as emergency assistance. That operates from October 1-May 15, which is the heating season period. The other part of crisis we refer to as Proactive. That operates from May 15-September 30. Part of the difference is semantics. Part of it is the way the services are provided. In emergency assistance, for example, somebody is out of bulk fuel during the winter and they have no heat. We can intercede if they are eligible for our program. The local county or the agency operating it can call the fuel dealer and say that they will pay X amount of dollars to them if they will go out and deliver fuel. Because of the winter moratorium, it's not likely you will see disconnects from gas and electric service from the utilities. That business picks up around April 15 after the moratorium goes off. Then you see households at risk of being disconnected. We would go in and a couple of things could be done. One might be providing a one-time grant to help them pay for their bill. Another could be what we refer to as a co-payment plan where we will agree to p[ay a certain amount every month for a finite period as long as the customer is also making payments. That would be a Proactive arrangement. Another thing we would call proactive might be if you know someone who is not going to be able to afford fuel oil or propane in the winter and their tank is empty, we'll do a summer delivery when the oil or propane can be purchased at a lower rate." The whole home weatherization field has become very technical over the past 15 years. It's no longer a hammer and nails kind of operation. "They'll use infrared cameras to get a footprint on where there is energy leakage and where there might need to be some type of weatherization work done," Brown said. "For example, if there's an area in a sidewall of a house that's missing insulation where it didn't get blown in, the infrared camera can tell them there is heat loss in that area and it needs to be addressed." Brown has been very impressed with Branch's leadership style. Branch has been a roll up your sleeves kind of administrator. "Sheree has been absolutely amazing as has Secretary Michael Morgan in terms of their support and willingness to be out in the field," Brown said. "I think after 5-6 months of being here, Sheree has been in the field and more in contact with our agencies than anyone ever has who has been in this position. The front line staff in the local agencies, I can't begin to tell you how thrilled they are. It makes all the difference in the world to have that interest and support." For Branch, she is thrilled to be working with people who are committed to making a difference in other people's lives. "So many of the folks here have been with Energy in one way or another for years," Branch said. "They have a true commitment to these programs. They believe in them. They work tirelessly to make sure that every day consumers, the folks who need it the most, are getting all that is due to them. I'm grateful to be able to work with the team that is really passionate and committed to serving others." And it is that commitment that will make a difference to thousands of low-income households in whether or not they can exercise their right to stay warm this winter. In Dane County, in order to qualify for energy assistance or weatherization, people must be certified by the staff of Energy Services, Inc., 225 S. Park Street, Madison, WI 53715. Their phone number is 267-8601. For more information on the Division of Energy Services and its programs, visit www.homeenergyplus.wi.gov. |
| Wisconsin Division of Energy Services The right to be warm By Jonathan Gramling |
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| (Top right): Susan Brown (l-r) and Sheree Dallas Branch; (Left) Sheree Dallas Branch inspects the energy efficiency of a house trailer during a visit to Northern Wisconsin. (Below right) Andrea Louden (l-r), Susan Brown, Sheree Dallas Branch, Carl Saueressig, and Gary Gorlen meet during a conference call |