November, 2020 — “As soon as this hit, we had to pivot,” said Tilak Subrahmanian (VP, Eversource) in his acceptance speech. “We had to figure out how to get people back to doing the work” of lowering energy use across four states: Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire.
Eversource convened energy efficiency professionals, community organizations and implementers of efficiency programs, and health and safety experts to create best practices for contractors to work more safely throughout the pandemic. A working group met to develop procedures protocols to safely get back into the field. Online training then enabled contractors to earn certifications: several thousand individuals within weeks of implementation.
The COVID-19 guidelines are specific to energy efficiency work. They cover topics like weatherization of exterior and unoccupied spaces of buildings. See this Building Performance Association article.
So when NECEC offered the opportunity, E4TheFuture was pleased to sponsor its On-Premises Project Construction & Installation Award as part of the Clean Energy Back to Work Challenge.
The Challenge launched last June, to highlight innovative projects from clean energy organizations that successfully adapted their business practices amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
As E4TheFuture’s Steve Cowell said during the award presentation, “creating protocols to keep both workers and consumers safe “was a tremendous challenge.” Cowell and Subrahmanian both thanked and acknowledged the many people and organizations involved.
Eversource partnered with Environmental Health & Engineering Inc., Program Administrators of Energize Connecticut, Mass Save, NHSaves, National Grid Rhode Island, CLEAResult, Rise Engineering, Action for Boston Community Development, and the Building Performance Association.