June 21, 2013

Mayor Emanuel Announces 4,000 Homes and Apartments Retrofitted Since Launch of Retrofit Chicago Residential Partnership

Mayor's Press Office    312.744.3334

Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced today that 4,000 Chicago homes and apartments have been retrofitted since the launch of the Retrofit Chicago Residential Partnership in August of last year. This represents a 38% increase in retrofits over the prior year, with 1,500 occurring in the 12 City of Chicago designated energy efficiency zones. In addition, more than 50,000 homes and apartments have received free energy efficient equipment such as compact florescent light bulbs, low-flow showerheads, and pipe insulation through $4.8 million in rebates, amounting to more than $3 million in annual savings for Chicago residents. This $11.4 million investment is estimated to have created approximately 100 jobs.   

“Through Retrofit Chicago, we have made investments in energy efficiency to create local jobs while helping home owners, building managers, and residents save money,” said Mayor Emanuel. “With $2.6 million in retrofit rebates still on the table, I encourage building and home owners to take advantage of this important initiative to save money on their heating and electricity bills.”

Residential buildings consume almost half of the City’s total energy supply. Through the Retrofit Chicago Residential Partnership, thousands of Chicago residents have already greatly reduced their energy costs while contributing to the redevelopment of Chicago’s residential infrastructure. Furthermore, $2.6 million in rebates from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act are still available, allowing many more Chicagoans to take advantage of hundreds of dollars in annual energy bill savings and contribute to Mayor Emanuel's goal of transforming the City of Chicago into the most sustainable city of the 21st century. Home and apartment owners who have not already done so are greatly encouraged to sign up by calling 855-9-IMPACT or go to retrofit.cityofchicago.org before the rebates’ expiration in August. 

The Retrofit Chicago Residential Partnership combines the efforts of ComEd, Peoples Gas, CNT Energy, the Community Investment Corporation, the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, and the Historic Chicago Bungalow Association with the City of Chicago.

The Retrofit Chicago Residential Partnership builds upon the success of the Retrofit Chicago Commercial Building Initiative, first announced in June of last year. Under this initiative 32 buildings have committed to reduce their energy impact by 20%, resulting in $10 million in energy savings over the next year, creating over 200 jobs, and reducing the carbon impact by the equivalent of 15,000 cars.

The Retrofit Chicago Residential Partnership was facilitated by the Mayor’s Innovation Delivery Team.  The Innovation Delivery Team helps coordinate the efforts of the retrofit partners and used utility data to identify the 12 energy efficiency target zones where retrofits would have the greatest energy savings. 

Chicago is one of five cities to receive an Innovation Delivery Team grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies. Since launching in November 2011, the Mayor’s Innovation Delivery Team has spearheaded a business license reform ordinance that reduced the number of license categories by 60 percent and also helped design the Small Business Center to serve as a one-stop-shop for small businesses.  Part of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Mayors Project, Innovation Delivery Team grants were also awarded to Atlanta, Louisville, Memphis, and New Orleans.

 

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