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and assure that public housing modernization funds are used for cost-effective weatherization and solar applications;

• assure the establishment of regulations permitting a five-year accelerated rate of depreciation and other initiatives for conservation/solar equipment in privately owned rental housing;

• seek to assure that all new housing made available to the poor is energy-efficient, and will make maximum use of cost-effective solar energy technologies;

• expand CAA energy conservation programs in rural areas to promote wide use of solar heating and the development of programs to establish dispersed energy generation through biomass conversion, small-scale hydropower, and wind power;

• expand research and development programs in low-cost reliable solar technologies and approaches to solve lowincome Americans' energy problems;

• assure an adequate labor force for weatherization/solar programs and provide training and jobs to low-income people through such programs;

⚫ encourage the development of small energy-related businesses owned and operated by low-income community residents;

• develop systems for solar standards, warranties and licensing which protect the low-income consumer and yet allow for initiative in Federal programs and innovation in small energy-related businesses;

• develop a low-income solarization grants program comparable to existing low-income weatherization programs complemented by low-interest loans; and

⚫ expand inter-agency cooperation and provide for citizen participation in energy assistance programming for the

poor.

Top:

CETA workers constructing thermo-syphoning concentrating solar hot water system at Committee on Training and Employment., Community Action Agency in Stamford, Connecticut..

Bottom: Finished, operating system.

The primary goal of the Community Services Administration (CSA) is the eradication of "the paradox of poverty in the midst of plenty in this Nation."1 CSA's efforts are, therefore,

directed toward enabling the poor to become self-sufficient and promoting institutional sensitivity and responsiveness to the needs of the poor.

In working toward this basic goal, CSA has four major objectives: These are:

1. to act as the representative of the poor within government, make their needs and aspirations known to the nation's decision-makers, and mobilize both public and private sector resources on their behalf;

2.

· 3.

4.

to promote the development and strengthening of community-based institutions which represent the interests of the poor on the local level and carry out a range of programs and developmental activities responsive to their needs;

to undertake research and experimentation designed to expand the knowledge base about poverty problems and develop and test innovative solutions; and

to develop and support local programs which meet the critical service needs of the poor and provide permanent improvements in living conditions.

CSA's representational efforts at the national level are paralleled at the local level by responsive and effective community-based organizations. Primary reliance for overall local advocacy is placed on a network of Community Action Agencies (CAA's), and in the more specialized field of economic development, on Community Development Corporations (CDC's) as well. Other special-purpose or limited-purpose community organizations are also supported. In all cases, CSA service and developmental programs serve as instruments for institutional change, as models which will effect permanent improvements in the living conditions of the poor and in the manner in which both the public and private sectors respond to their needs.

The CSA mission therefore requires a coordinated and compre

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hensive approach

where representation,

institution-building,

experimentation, and program delivery all receive simultaneous emphasis, and in which the poor themselves participate to the fullest extent possible.

B. Energy-Related Problems of the Poor

Many Americans have been concerned about the energy crisis. Citizens feel a rise in the cost of utilities. In the five years from 1972 to 1977, fuel oil and coal prices rose 164.1%, while gas and electricity prices rose 90.4%. Further, many argue that energy problems may be substantially responsible for the inflationary and unemployment difficulties of our economy in recent years (the CPI rose only 55.3% from 1972 to 1977).2 In particular, energy problems are a major difficulty for one group of citizens in our society, namely, for low-income people. The 35,509,000 poor and near-poor (i.e., 125% of government issued poverty guidelines) struggle daily to meet basic needs. The 5,311,000 families in poverty, 2,102,000 of which are headed by working poor and 726,000 of which are comprised of persons 65 and older, are faced with basic energy-related questions of economic survival.y3

This group of citizens, accounting for nearly 17% of the total population of our society, not only has trouble paying for essentials like energy, but also feels the effects of inflation and unemployment most severely.4 Despite these circumstances, the needs of the poor have until now been under-represented in the formulation of national energy policy.

6

The crux of the problem is that the poor pay a much higher percentage of their gross income for energy than do the middle or upper classes. Utility costs alone account for approximately 15 to 25% of the total income of the average low-income family.5 Data from some CSA crisis intervention and weatherization programs have shown a large number of poverty families spending 40-50% of their budget on fuel and utility costs during the heating season. By comparison, a middle-income family pays only 5 to 7% of their total income for utility bills, although they consume, on the average, 50% more energy. The substantial and increasing proportion of a low-income family's budget which goes for utilities affects their ability to pay for other essentials such as food, rent, and clothing which account for virtually all of the remaining income after utilities are paid.7 One result has been that over the past 14 months, CSA alone has provided $350 million in emergency assistance to help with payment of energy costs.

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While these problems are most severe in low-income households, they foreshadow the situation of the near-poor and those on moderate incomes as energy prices continue to increase over the next decade.

Even today, the most readily available data show that the average low-income household in 1975 used 55.4% less electricity and 24.1% less natural gas than the average middle-income U. S. household. These figures are especially significant in light of the fact that less than 43% of the low-income households have home insulation and 58% have no storm doors or windows-factors which drive up the amount of home fuel use required to maintain minimum conditions of health and comfort.8 Given these circumstances, recent increases in utility and fuel bills severely penalize poor people. In most cases, low-income families cannot respond by reducing consumption. Such a reduction to save fuel during winter in drafty older homes would result in severe health hazards for many families. In a similar manner, lack of funds to pay for air-conditioning in warm climates has resulted in premature death for some poor citizens due to heat prostration. For example, the 20 persons who died from heat in Dallas, Texas in July 1978 were elderly, poor, and had no air conditioning. These problems are particularly acute for senior citizens, who comprise a substantial proportion of the poor and near-poor population. 9 Many elderly are very susceptible to health problems which are aggravated by cold (e.g., respiratory ailments, arthritis, or hypothermia) and by heat; they are less able to adapt to lower room temperatures in winter and higher ones in summer and therefore are unable to be flexible in their energy consumption.10

Totalling 17% of the population, and averaging two-thirds the energy consumption of their middle-income counterparts, lowincome households (the poor and near-poor) represent about 11% of the total residential energy consumption in the United States. Adding the consumption of those on a modest income (e.g., $6,000-9,000 for a family of four) would raise the figure to about

25%.

In addition to residential energy use, marginal low-income family farms are largely dependent on fossil fuels for transportation and farm machinery, fertilizers, and pesticides, the increasing costs of which are forcing many off the farm. The same crisis faces marginal low-income small businesses, many of which are being forced into bankruptcy..

Thus the poor and the elderly are the hardest hit by the energy crisis, and at the same time least able to afford the