Volunteer for CMLP Energy Efficiency Outreach Program

Concord Light is carrying out an exciting experiment, which involves personally reaching out to Concordians, to see if we can persuade them to take steps to weatherize their homes.  Would you be interesting in participating in this effort? We are seeking volunteers who would each be willing to call a list of 20 households that heat with natural gas.
 
This effort focuses on households that heat with natural gas.  We want to encourage these households to take advantage of free services and hefty discounts currently available to them through National Grid, their natural gas supplier. These include a free home energy audit, free professional sealing of cracks and leaks if a home is very leaky, and a 75% discount on insulation, up to $2,000 per household.  
 
Ten volunteers are working on reaching out to 335 households in total. By joining us, you can ensure that we meet our goal! We will encourage homeowners to request a home energy audit from National Grid, and then follow up with them to encourage and assist them in figuring out how to implement their audit recommendations.
 
In order to participate in this outreach effort:

    * You don’t need to have technical knowledge about weatherization. We have expert resources to which we can refer people if need be.
    * You don’t need to be a National Grid natural gas heating customer yourself.
    * It’s ok if you haven’t weatherized your home (you’re bound to learn things as a result of this volunteer effort that will be useful to you later!).

 A few other things you’ll want to know about this volunteer effort:

    * A postcard has been sent ahead of time to each of the 335 households, letting them know that we’ll be calling to ask if they would like to take advantage of this opportunity offered by National Grid. Articles have also appeared in the Concord Journal describing the outreach effort.
    * Calls can be made from home. The best time to reach people will be in the evening or on weekends.
    * It can take six months or longer for people to undertake the entire audit/weatherization process, so we do ask volunteers to be willing to follow up with people as necessary over that timeframe. Besides, following up will give you the satisfaction of knowing that someone actually took action to reduce their carbon footprint as a direct result of your efforts!
    * The number of people who will need follow-up will be less than half of your initial list.  We know that we won’t be able to make contact with everyone. Nor will everyone we speak with choose to request an energy audit at this time.
    * Concord Light will provide a basic script, a review of National Grid’s weatherization program and instructions on how we’ll keep track of our contacts with people. Materials will be reviewed in an orientation session that can be scheduled at your convenience.
 
As we go along, this group of volunteers will trade ideas about what works to move people to action, and we’ll hone our approach. The lessons learned by this test team will really help when Concord Light trains a larger group of volunteers to put the word out to the wider community.
 
The question of how to change behavior is at the heart of so much that we talk about when it comes to sustainability. This is a behavior change initiative in its most concrete form. It’s proving to be a fascinating project!
 
If you’d like to participate in this outreach effort, or would like more information, contact Jan Aceti, Energy Conservation Coordinator, Concord Municipal Light Plant, (978-318-3151 or jaceti@concordma.gov) by July 9th.