Be wise, weatherize
By Catherine Rogers

   While there‚Äôs no escaping the rising cost of fuel, some Massachusetts agencies are joining forces to offer Somerville residents relief from the burden.
    And for some beneficiaries, qualifying to receive assistance comes as a surprise.
   ‚ÄúI wish I had known about it years ago. I had a lot of incorrect assumptions,‚Äù said Maria Nicolau, who lives on the top floor of her mother‚Äôs three-family home on Broadway. ‚ÄúI thought owning a home would make a person ineligible,‚Äù she said.

     Fortunately, Nicolau‚Äôs discovery of the fuel assistance program didn‚Äôt come too late.
When her mother’s fixed income and small pension seemed to stretch thin after covering heating and other living costs, Nicolau said she called her provider, NSTAR, in October to explore budgeted payment plans for her mother.
     By last week, her mother‚Äôs home on Broadway transformed into a showcase of weatherization and energy-saving repairs as fuel assistance advocacy groups opened the home to the public.
     The house buzzed with activity as a crew tore shingles off the side of the house, drilled four-inch holes in the wood and pumped insulation into the walls.
     Others worked to fill cracks in the old foundation or to tighten closures around drafty doors and windows. They even replaced the ancient boiler system with a brand-new model.
     As Alice Nicolau sat inside wondering when the hammering and banging would give way to peace and quiet, her daughter was relieved she didn‚Äôt have to worry about juggling funds for her next fuel bill anymore.
     That‚Äôs because the repairs to her home were covered by state and federal grants. The Cambridge-Somerville Fuel Assistance program and Menotomy, an Arlington-based weatherization group, have partnered with Energy Bucks, a utility-sponsored umbrella group, to offer one-stop access to fuel assistance, utility discount rates, and energy efficiency services.
    ‚ÄúWith rising energy costs, this winter is going to be terribly difficult for low-income, elderly and working families trying to heat their homes,‚Äù said Kathy Mitchell, director of the Cambridge-Somerville Fuel Assistance program.
     With more than 800,000 Massachusetts homes qualified to receive some form of income-based assistance, applying for aid couldn‚Äôt be more beneficial, said William Zamparelli, the community relations representative NSTAR.
     ‚ÄúWith the skyrocketing cost of energy everyone needs to do what they can to cut costs,‚Äù he said, adding that energy efficiency services also cut down on the total energy consumed. ‚ÄúFrom a global perspective we‚Äôre really trying to reduce energy usage,‚Äù he said.
       The grants benefit the elderly, handicapped, families with children under 7, and Native Americans, but a household of any size or income can still trim unnecessary energy spending by closing window shades at night to block cool air, caulking doorways and performing regular maintenance on gas and oil burners.
       In Somerville, where the two-and three-family homes vastly outnumber the single families, separate groups can combine assistance qualifications for the entire building. At least half of the families in the building need to meet eligibility requirements in order to receive assistance, said Janet Baronian, assistant director of Menotomy Weatherization Program.
        Although Nicolau‚Äôs grant covered the costs of improvement for her home‚Äôs first floor, her daughter upstairs looks forward to a dramatic reduction in her mother‚Äôs bill ‚Äì upwards of 50 percent. ‚ÄúHad the fuel prices not risen so dramatically I probably wouldn‚Äôt have made the call, either,‚Äù she said.