SOUTH : SoCal Gas to Help Residents Conserve

To help low-income customers conserve energy and save money, the Southern California Gas Co. has launched a program to insulate and repair homes in South and South-Central Los Angeles.

The program will include the repair of cracked doors and windows, insulation of attics, and installation of weatherstripping, low-flow shower heads and water-heater blankets, said Darryl Miller, a manager for the Gas Co.

Company officials said the four-year, $40-million program will reach 80,000 customers in “neglected areas” throughout Southern California, with about half the participants coming from South and South-Central Los Angeles.

“We really hope that the program will have a ripple effect throughout South-Central Los Angeles,” said Dick Friend, a Gas Co. spokesman. “The measures performed on these homes and others in the future will help residents save money and create disposable income.”

Participants in the program must have incomes below the poverty level, which varies according to the number of people per household. A family of four, for example, would have to earn less than $20,900 a year to qualify for the “weatherization” repairs, Friend said.

The program has trained 100 area youth in weatherization and home repair skills, said Jackie Dupont-Walker, general project manager for Rebuild L.A. The program also hires local contractors to employ the youth, she said.

Florencio Ponce will have the attic of his three-bedroom home insulated and a blanket placed on his water heater.

“It will be a lot of help,” said Ponce who is part of a seven-person household in South-Central. “Of all the years I’ve lived here, I’ve not been able to put in the insulation because I didn’t have the money.”

Information: (800) 331-7593.