Revitalize Milwaukee Receives $500,000 Energy Innovation Grant

MILWAUKEE – The Wisconsin Public Service Commission (PSC) announced it is awarding $500,000 in funding from its Energy Innovation Grant Program (EIGP) to Revitalize Milwaukee (RM), a nonprofit organization that provides free home repairs to low-income homeowners in southeastern Wisconsin.

The grants are being awarded to 32 energy-related projects that increase the deployment of renewable energy and energy storage, support energy efficiency and demand response, bolster preparedness and resiliency in the energy system and facilitate comprehensive energy planning.

RM, in partnership with Kevin Kane of Green Homeowners United LLC and its contractor network, will continue expanding its energy-efficient project within the home repair program. RM will initially target up to 50 homes throughout Milwaukee and Waukesha Counties. This funding is in addition to the $500,000 originally awarded in 2022, which allowed RM to serve 50 homeowners successfully.

“We are grateful to be a partner and through our Energy Efficiency Program, continue to provide much-needed energy and cost-saving upgrades such as attic and basement insulation, and upgraded high-efficiency furnaces to help reduce energy costs for our homeowners,” said Lynnea Katz-Petted, CEO of Revitalize Milwaukee. “We will continue to engage in science-focused energy efficiency and high-efficiency HVAC improvements, working with locally based, often minority-owned contractors.”

The PSC awarded nearly $10 million in funding in the EIGP for 2023.

“The projects awarded funding by the Commission represent a new cycle of forward-thinking energy innovation that will create jobs, reduce costs for Wisconsinites, and support the statewide goal of carbon-free electricity consumption by 2050,” said PSC Chairwoman Rebecca Cameron Valcq. “I am proud of the Commission’s work to award these grants to Wisconsin manufacturers, tribes, educational institutions and communities, and make these projects possible.”

Katz-Petted said, “The funds focus on helping low-income seniors, veterans and people living with disabilities. This is a great addition to the variety of services RM provides year-round to our amazing homeowners.”

RM’s mission is to stabilize neighborhoods by providing free critical home repairs to low-income homeowners. Through home repairs, we improve health, increase the quality of life, and stabilize neighborhoods. Since 2000, Revitalize Milwaukee has completed critical home repairs on nearly 4,000 homes with the help of next to 12,000 volunteers and invested over 24 million dollars into Milwaukee-area housing. We are proud to be the largest provider of free critical home repairs in Southeast Wisconsin. Join us in changing the lives of countless low-income homeowners. For media inquiries only contact CEO Lynnea Katz-Petted at 414-704-1581. For application inquiries call 414-312-7531 or visit www.freehomerepairs.org.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.