ALAMOSA — The San Luis Valley branch of the Energy Resource Center has a new location. Their office has now moved to 2311 Commerce Circle in Alamosa.
The center hopes to expand the service that it has been providing to the San Luis Valley since 1979. Thanks to the assistance of Alamosa State Bank and Commercial Lenders/Assistant Vice Presidents Joe Martinez and Danielle Van Veghten, the Energy Resource Center was able find a great rate for the cost of the building. The new facility will provide more space for the potential growth of the operation.
The Energy Resource Center is part of a statewide network of offices that include Colorado Springs, Denver and Loveland. The mission of the Energy Resource Center is to improve home energy efficiency, conserve energy, promote health, and increase comfort and expand quality of life for all Coloradans.
The center is a part of numerous weatherization assistance programs for low-income housing including the Weatherization Assistance Program that is a part of the Colorado Energy Office, Colorado’s Affordable Residential Energy Program, and the San Luis Valley Rural Electric Coop Residential Weatherization Program. Another program that the ERC provides is called NEEP or the Non Profit Energy Efficiency Program. These are services that are available to area non-profits that qualify.
There is a standard procedure used for the selection of jobs that the Energy Resource Center performs. The first step is to determine if a home qualifies. Anyone can contact the center to find out if they qualify. Families that receive LEAP, SNAP, TANF, AND, OAP, SSI or SSDI assistance can also qualify to have their homes weatherized for free.
The second step is to have trained professionals from the center perform a complete energy assessment of the home and check for health and safety hazards. The updates that may be installed can include adding insulation to walls, attics and subspace. The furnace and refrigerator will also be inspected and replaced or repaired if necessary.
Other improvements can include the installation of LED lighting, carbon monoxide and smoke detectors. The Energy Resource Center has corrected carbon monoxide in nearly 30 percent of the homes they have serviced. There is also testing that is done for harmful substances such as radon.
The ERC employees are all highly certified in areas such as NATE (North American Technician Excellence). The ERC crew travels to projects across the Valley almost on a daily basis.
Altogether, the Alamosa center performs approximately 320 jobs a year. In 2017, there were 1,613 homes that were serviced in Denver, Colorado Springs and Alamosa. One hundred percent of the profits generated from these jobs are reinvested. There is only 4 percent of revenue spent on administration.
Charlie Sanchez, the director for the Alamosa office, expressed that he is committed to keeping the portion of statewide funding the center receives as well as the jobs right here in the Valley. He hopes that the center can continue to grow and continue to improve the quality of life for Valley residents.
“We are here to serve,” he said.
Caption: Energy Resource Center has moved to 2311 Commerce Circle in Alamosa./Courier photo by Helen Smith
