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Gov. Kay Ivey has awarded $179,078 to the Community Action Agency of South Alabama to assist low-income and elderly residents with weatherizing their homes to lower energy costs. The Community Action Agency of South Alabama’s district includes Escambia County as well as Baldwin, Clarke, Conecuh, Marengo, Monroe and Wilcox. The award is a part of the $2.6 million grant Ivey awarded to Alabama’s Weatherization Assistance Program, which is dedicated to improving the energy efficiency and safety of qualifying homes. The $2.6 million grant is divided among 14 community agencies across the state that manage the program at the local level.

The Special Projects Director of Community Action Agency of South Alabama Elaine Lee said that this grant, for specifically Escambia County, means that Lee’s team will be able to increase the energy efficiency of five homes. Lee said that this grant will improve these Escambia County citizen’s lives greatly.

“With that reduced energy burden, it’ll give families and community members more money to shop for food, medications, education and all the other good things that they often have to sacrifice to pay for utility bills,” Lee said.

Lee said the way the process works is individuals submit applications to the Community Action Agency of South Alabama, and if selected, the agency will conduct an energy audit to determine the most cost-efficient measures. Some of the common energy improvements are sealing doors and windows, fixing the air conditioner, insulating the attic and replacing the light bulbs with high-efficiency bulbs.

For more information about Community Action Agency of South Alabama, go to their website www.caaofsa.org .