Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has set aside $4.4 million in federal grant money for a program to weatherize homes for low-income and elderly residents.

The money will help support Alabama’s Weatherization Assistance Program to lower energy costs for qualifying homes. The program will focus on low-income households with children, households for people with disabilities, and the elderly.

“Many low-income Alabama residents who struggle to pay higher utility bills could save money if their homes were more energy efficient,” Ivey said in a press release. 

“These important weatherization grants can assist in better protecting their homes from the effects of hot and cold temperatures which too often drive up energy costs.”

ADECA, the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs, will administer the grants using money from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Homes that qualify for the grants for weatherization assistance will undergo an energy audit to determine the most cost-efficient fixes. Common improvements, according to the press release, include adding insulation, sealing doors and windows, and replacing incandescent light bulbs.

The grants were given to 13 community agencies across Alabama that will manage the program at the local level.

“ADECA supports Gov. Ivey in helping Alabama’s most-vulnerable residents through the Weatherization Assistance Program,” ADECA Director Kenneth Boswell said. “The partnerships with these community agencies ensure that many underserved residents receive help in preparing their homes for the hottest part of the year with improvements that help them now and well into the future.”

Below is a list of each grant, the recipient agency, counties served and the agency telephone number:

• $347,531 to Central Alabama Regional Planning and Development Commission (Autauga, Chilton, Dallas, Elmore, Macon, Perry, Russell and Shelby) 334-262-4300
• $147,911 to Community Action Committee Inc. of Chambers-Tallapoosa-Coosa (Chambers, Coosa and Tallapoosa) 256-825-4287
• $208,606 to Alabama Council on Human Relations Inc. (Lee) 334-821-8336
• $292,024 to Community Action Partnership of Huntsville-Madison and Limestone Counties Inc. (Madison and Limestone) 256-851-9800
• $562,525 to Mobile Community Action Inc. (Choctaw, Mobile and Washington) 251-457-5700
• $183,390 to Montgomery County Commission (Montgomery) 334-832-1210
• $215,590 to Community Action Partnership of North Alabama Inc. (Cullman, Lawrence, Marion, Morgan, Walker and Winston) 256-355-7843
• $816,205 to Community Action Agency of Northeast Alabama Inc. (Blount, Cherokee, DeKalb, Etowah, Jackson, Jefferson, Marshall and St. Clair) 256-638-4430
• $199,309 to Community Action Agency of Northwest Alabama Inc. (Colbert, Franklin and Lauderdale) 256-766-4330
• $528,009 to Organized Community Action Program Inc. (Barbour, Bullock, Butler, Coffee, Covington, Crenshaw, Dale, Geneva, Henry, Houston, Lowndes and Pike) 334-566-1712
• $355,437 to Community Action Agency of South Alabama (Baldwin, Clarke, Conecuh, Escambia, Marengo, Monroe and Wilcox) 251-626-2646
• $243,355 to Community Action Agency of Talladega, Clay, Randolph, Calhoun and Cleburne (Calhoun, Clay, Cleburne, Randolph and Talladega) 256-362-6611
• $375,035 to Community Service Programs of West Alabama Inc. (Bibb, Fayette, Greene, Hale, Lamar, Pickens, Sumter and Tuscaloosa) 205-752-5429