NOME—Recognizing that high energy costs impact nearly every aspect of life in the Norton Sound region, the Norton Sound Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors voted December 3 to provide a $500 utility subsidy for the region’s residents. NSEDC will issue the subsidy in January 2014 and will soon provide details on the program’s details, including when and how to sign up.
The program will essentially mirror NSEDC’s previous electric utility subsidies issued in 2008 and 2012, paying $500 toward the residential electricity accounts for each household in NSEDC’s 15 member communities. The 2008 effort led to NSEDC applying $1.18 million to accounts representing 2,368 households; nearly 2,700 households received the subsidy in 2012 for a total of $1.34 million applied to residents’ bills.
As with the previous subsidies, this 2014 initiative is an isolated contribution to residents of NSEDC’s member communities and not constructed to be an ongoing or yearly program. The subsidy complements NSEDC’s long-term efforts to bring down energy costs in the region which include NSEDC’s Community Energy Fund, a bulk fuel purchasing program and region-wide energy planning efforts in coordination with other entities.
“The NSEDC Board of Directors aims to benefit all residents of our member communities by providing this electric utility subsidy,” said NSEDC Board Chairman Dan Harrelson. “High energy costs continue to burden our region’s residents, requiring them to devote much of their income to utility bills. We hope this subsidy allows residents to put more of their hard-earned money toward other priorities.”
As with the previous subsidies, households will be required to sign up directly with NSEDC rather than their utility provider. NSEDC plans to launch our effort to sign up households in January and will soon be distributing information to each member community on the details of the subsidy. Please direct any questions regarding the subsidy to the NSEDC Community Benefits Department and not your local utility company. For more information, contact Paul Ivanoff III in Unalakleet at 1-800-385-3190 or pivanoff@nsedc.com.
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