Governor Jim Doyle today announced that the Coulee Community Action Program will receive $2,005,116 in federal recovery act funds to weatherize about 236 homes in Crawford, La Crosse, Monroe, and Vernon counties.

“Today’s investments will save money for hard working Wisconsin families, reduce pollution, strengthen the local economy, and help us move forward on our goals of achieving energy independence,” Governor Doyle said. “Here in Wisconsin, we are moving quickly to allocate recovery funding, creating jobs for hardworking Wisconsin families, while ensuring that taxpayer dollars are spent responsibly.”

Wisconsin expects to receive $141.5 million in Recovery Act funds to help weatherize or re-weatherize about 33,000 homes over the course of the next two years.

Typical weatherization work includes instrumented air sealing; insulation of attics, sidewalls and other areas that define the heating envelope; refrigerator replacement; electric water heater replacement; mechanical adjustments such as cleaning and tune-up; furnace replacements when necessary; and lighting replacement with ENERGY STAR qualified compact fluorescents.

Weatherization assistance will be available to families with an income at or below 60% of the state median income – or about $45,000 a year for a family of four.

The Wisconsin Division of Energy Services provides services to Wisconsin qualified residential households with energy assistance and weatherization needs.  For more information call 1- 866-HEATWIS (432-8947).