TRACY CITY, Tenn. — Candy Pert’s home received some much-needed energy saving upgrades this week, but she didn’t have to pay a cent.
She got new storm windows, a back door, an exhaust fan for the bathroom and an access door for her attic through the Tennessee Weatherization Assistance Program.
Mrs. Pert, 57, has been disabled for eight years and couldn’t have afforded the work on her own. On a fixed income of about $1,100 per month, she said her power bills were just too high.
“Our electric bills were running between $300 and $400 a month … and I just couldn’t afford that,” said Mrs. Pert, whose husband is her caregiver. “It’s really hard on $1,100 a month — it’s very, very hard to pay a $400 electric bill. You have to cut from somewhere, so the place you cut from is food.”
She heard about the program from a neighbor and signed up at the end of October. An inspector came the first week in November and put out a bid to local contractors in December, she said, but the holidays put the work on hold until this week.