Energy assistance program comes to East Texas

​​​AUSTIN – The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs is teaming up with the Greater East Texas Community Action Program to provide an energy assistance program to income-eligible residents of nine East Texas counties.

The Nacogdoches-based nonprofit will administer the state housing agency’s Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) in Harrison, Jasper, Newton, Panola, Sabine, San Augustine, Shelby​, Tyler, and Upshur Counties.

WAP helps low-income households reduce their energy costs through the installation of weatherization materials and minor home repairs, saving more of the household’s income for other necessities.

Weatherization services typically include caulking; weather-stripping; the addition of ceiling, wall, and floor insulation; patching holes in the building envelope; duct work; and the tune-up, repair, or replacement of inefficient heating and cooling systems.

To qualify for assistance, households cannot earn more than 200 percent of the federal poverty income guidelines, which for a family of four equals an annual income of $48,600.​​