Become a Building Performance Institute (BPI) certified Energy Auditor or Participate in Our Business Weatherization Program

What: H Street Building Scientist Training (BPI) of Local Residents
When: July 26, 2010 to August 13, 2010  7 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Where: H Street Greenhouse, 1341 H Street, NE, Suite 301, Washington, DC  20002

Taurus Development Group in partnership with DC Greenworks and Access Green, local area businesses, is teaching a course to train 10 D.C. residents of the H Street, NE Corridor (Residents should reside or work in either Ward 5, represented by Council Member Harry Thomas, Jr. ward or Ward 6 represented by Tommy Wells,) to become BPI certified Energy Auditors (Building Analyst).

The course is funded by a Neighborhood Investment Fund Grant from the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development. The grant is part of the H Street Building Scientist Training (BPI) of Local Residents and Weatherization of Local Businesses program.

The course is divided into two sections:
• A three week classroom session that prepares students for the BPI Building Analyst Exam
• A one and a half month practical session where the newly trained building analysts perform energy audits and weatherization for H Street, NE businesses under supervision by BPI Certified Building Analysts.

Individuals interested in taking the course or businesses interested in receiving weatherization of their business premises should contact: Gail Montplaisir at (202) 462-4904 ext, 232 today!

Given the recent power outages in Northeast, Councilmember Wells has scheduled a community meeting with Pepco so that neighbors can hear from the utility company about what's happened, what they're doing to fix the problems, and answer any and all questions.

Pepco's Regional President, Thomas Graham, along with company representatives, will be on hand to meet with neighbors and businesses to answer questions about the cause of the outages, corrective actions by Pepco and how claims can be filed and followed-up. 

Councilmember Wells would also like to hear from neighbors about property damage as a result of the outages and hear from Pepco about its claims procedures. The meeting will take place Wednesday evening July 14, 2010 from 6:00 – 7:30 at the Atlas Performing Arts Center 1333 H St., NE.

We are happy to report that we have received word from Pepco and residents that as of 5:00 pm all power is restored in the area of Northeast, including Linden Place, 12th St. and H St, marked by recent outages. Pepco worked all day today in Northeast to restore power that had been interrupted for some residents for several days and then early this afternoon encountered another problem when power along H St., NE was interrupted to many businesses. 

They were able to work underground where the damage had occurred and make needed repairs to re-establish power to all affected buildings.  Should any one experience any unexpected power outage the following numbers should be helpful.

D.C. Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency Hotline -- (202) 727-6161 -- to request assistance with emergency shelter or report a hazardous condition.

PEPCO Safety Emergency -- (202) 872-3432 -- to report wires down.

PEPCO Claims Office -- (202) 872-2455 -- to request a form for electric service related damages.

Updated at 5:45 pm, Wednesday, July 7th

Tommy just got off the phone and Sherwood Recreation Center will now be open all night and have cots available for anyone that needs to get out of their homes and into air conditioning. Please make sure you spread the word to your senior neighbors or families with young children. In addition, they are now making accomodations to allow neighbors to bring their pets with them if they choose to.

Updated at 5:20 pm, Wednesday, July 7th

We've spent a good deal of time on the phone with PEPCO over the last 24 hours. Here's their latest update. PEPCO expects to have the repairs made and full power restored to Linden Place NE and the surrounding blocks by midnight tonight. Unfortunately, they've missed several of their estimated repair times, so there's not a lot of faith this timeframe will hold. Impacted residents should likely plan for power to be out (or at reduced capacity) all night.

Anyone in need of non life-threatening assistance this evening should call the District's Emergency Management office at 727-6161. If this number does not work, call 311. They are onsite and have staff on duty all night to assist.

Sherwood Recreation Center has been established as a cooling center for residents. Tommy has called the Director of Parks & Recreation, the City Administrator, and now the Mayor, asking that it remain open and staffed until midnight tonight. In addition, we've heard reports that many neighbors aren't using the cooling center because they won't allow pets inside. Tommy asked them to suspend that prohibition on pets tonight to help ensure people and their pets can stay cool and out of the heat.

As we get more information, we'll update the website.