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By Ivan Brandon, National Fuel Funds Network
Former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Henry Cisneros will be the opening speaker at the third annual National Energy and Utility Affordability Conference, the largest national gathering of supporters of affordable energy for low income households.
Cisneros, who served in President Bill Clinton’s cabinet, is currently executive chairman of the CityView companies, which work with homebuilders to create homes priced within the range of average families. CityView is a partner in building 40 communities in 12 states, including more than 7,000 homes.
More than 600 conferees are expected to attend the three day meeting that combines the conferences of the National Fuel Funds Network and the National Low Income Energy Consortium. The event, set for June 14-16, 2010, at the Hyatt Regency San Antonio on the Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas, is the largest gathering of professionals and advocates involved in low income energy issues.
The keynote speaker is Doug McKenzie-Mohr, an environmental psychologist and expert in the design of programs to promote sustainable behavior. McKenzie-Mohr will address the ongoing problem of maintaining long term changes in behavior as it applies to the energy assistance community. Many energy assistance programs have long wrestled with the problem of finding ways to keep their clients following the energy efficient and energy saving practices that they demonstrate to them. If the clients can be convinced to maintain these behavioral changes it will help them reduce their need for energy assistance. For over two decades, McKenzie-Mohr has been working to incorporate scientific knowledge on behavior change into the design and delivery of community programs. He will offer is insights into how these goals can be reached.
Two Department of Energy officials will lead a discussion of an overview of the impact and accomplishments of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and a look at what lies ahead. Gil Sperling, Senior Advisor for Policy and Programs in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at the U. S. Department of Energy, and Peter Roehrig, a special assistant at the U.S. Department of Energy, will look that the legislation that was designed by the Obama administration to help with the recovery from the nation’s financial crisis.
An explanation of Smart Grid technology and its impacts on low-income consumers will be the subject of another general session. Nancy Brockway, a former commissioner on the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission and an expert in utility and energy matters with over 20 years of experience in the field, and Ray Gogel, president and chief operating officer of the Current Group, LLC, in Germantown, Maryland, will explore the issue.
Karl Rábago, vice president for distributed energy services with Austin Energy, will be another featured speaker. He has nearly 20 years of experience in electricity policy and regulation, emerging energy markets and clean energy technology development, and implementation of sustainability principles. Rábago has been both a Deputy Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of Energy and commissioner of the Texas Public Utility Commission. He was also a sustainability leader with NatureWorks and managing director of the Rocky Mountain Institute. In addition, Rábago is chairman of the board for the Center for Resource Solutions and helped create the “Green-e” Certification program for renewable energy products. He is a member of Pedernales Electric Coop’s member advisory committee, an officer of the Renewable Energy Markets Association and advisor to the Texas Interfaith Power & Light project.
The conference will have 56 workshops in seven tracks dealing with subjects including energy availability and sustainability, weatherization and energy efficiency, energy assistance and education, energy policy and advocacy, vulnerable populations, energy programs in Indian country, and utility and fuel program.
The very popular poverty simulation workshop, where conferees will have the opportunity to experience firsthand the problems and difficulties faced by low- income households through role playing, will be staged again. The simulation is designed by the Missouri Association for Community Action. During a simulation, participants assume the roles of single parents, people with disabilities and senior citizens as well as those of social workers and energy assistance providers. Participants are assigned the task of providing food, shelter and other basic necessities during four 15-minute units that simulate weeks. Participants interact with community resources and other families.
During the final luncheon of the conference, both the NFFN and the NLIEC will present their annual awards. The NLIEC will bestow its Achievement Award and the NFFN will announce the winners of the Sister Pat Kelley Award, the Victorine Q. Adams Award, the Corporate Excellence Award and the Extra Mile Award.
© 2010, National Energy and Utility Affordability Conference, presented by the National Fuel Funds Network and National Low Income Energy Consortium