If you own a home or business south of Roy, you may qualify for a city program that helps home or business owners make your buildings more energy efficient. Where before energy efficiency programs were confusing and sometimes overwhelming, Community Power Works will attempt to guide people through the process from start to finish.

The program, which covers much of central and south Seattle, launched May 3. Aside from guiding people, the program also helps home and business owners get a loan from the non-profit lender Enterprise Cascadia. Payments on the loan can be paid through your City Light bill. To put that another way, if the energy efficiency projects save electricity (and, therefore, electricity costs), you may be able to pay off the work through your energy bill savings.

Jannifer Langston at Sightline explained some of the other benefits offered through the program:

• An energy expert to set up appointments and guide them through the process.
• A deeply discounted home energy assessment (cost: $95) to determine which improvements will be most cost-effective.
• Bids from pre-approved contractors that bundle together all applicable energy efficiency rebates and incentives.
• Information about financing options.
• Affordable loans from Enterprise Cascadia, a non-profit community lender, which can be paid back on the home’s electric bill.
• A followup audit to make sure the work has been done correctly and that the energy savings are being realized.

To get started, you can apply online. If you have more questions, email [email protected]