Assisting customers in need with home energy renovations
In April, EPB and TVA celebrated the completion of our 400th Home Uplift energy renovation. EPB and TVA first partnered in 2015 to provide high-impact home energy upgrades to eligible homeowners in need with the goal of reducing their energy burden.
After completing a free EPB Home Energy Checkup℠, the EPB Energy Pros℠ offer participants a customized set of recommendations about which home renovations will provide them with the most value. Those who qualify receive home improvements at no cost to help them dramatically reduce their power bills. Home Uplift participants benefit from a range of energy efficiency upgrades that may include HVAC replacement, duct replacement, water heater and pipe insulation, attic and wall insulation, air sealing, windows and door replacement, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, and replacing heat pumps, water heaters and refrigerators.
As a result, Home Uplift participants save an average of $500 on their energy costs each year. Plus, 60% of participants report improved health, including fewer colds, allergy symptoms and asthma episodes, and better sleep. Due to its success, the Home Uplift program has been replicated in communities across the Tennessee Valley.
Through additional funding from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation and matching funds from EPB and TVA, EPB is accelerating the number of Home Uplift renovations we will complete in the coming year while looking for new resources to offer the program to even more neighbors in need.
Integrating infrastructure with public art
In most cases, infrastructure is designed to deliver critical services without calling attention to itself, but the placement of a new fence around the 10th Street substation presented a golden opportunity for a public art project. Located in the rapidly re-developing area along Martin Luther King Blvd., the substation serves a district rich with cultural history and present-day energy.
EPB worked with community partners to develop a theme expressive of the area and invited artists to submit concepts. The theme for this year’s project was, “The Soul of MLK — How artists visualize the heartbeat and soul of MLK in arts, music and culture.”
An outside group of community stakeholders selected nine artists to paint murals on the first nine panels which comprise the side of the substation fence which faces 10th Street. The works were chosen based on artistic value and relevance to the theme through a process in which the artists’ names were withheld from the judges.
ArtsBuild served as one of EPB’s primary partners in the project. “We were proud that 100% of the selected submissions were from minority or women artists, including some first-time muralists,” said James McKissic, President of ArtsBuild. “This project started during a challenging economic time, giving artists a chance to put their skills to work.”
Other partners in the project included: Association of Visual Arts, Bessie Smith Cultural Center, City of Chattanooga’s Public Art Chattanooga, Chattanooga Community Kitchen, RISE Chattanooga, River City Company, Urban League of Greater Chattanooga and University of Tennessee — Chattanooga.
The first nine 10th Street muralists were Jaclyn Anderson, Rondell Crier, Josiah Golson, Keelah Jackson-Harris, Julius Hubbard, Harlan Lovestone, Madison Myers, Lauren O’Neill, and Rachel Veal. Their work was dedicated during an event in June.
EPB plans to continue the project, working with community partners and artists to do one side of the fence per year, until all four sides are completed.
Keeping the EPB Holiday Window tradition in uncertain times
At a time when the COVID crisis disrupted many holiday traditions, EPB made it a priority to continue a long-standing seasonal observance that dates back to the World War II era.
The EPB Holiday Windows have brought families and community members together and created shared memories for nearly 80 years, but with COVID restrictions in mind, the holiday scenes that adorn the street-facing windows of the EPB downtown building were also presented as a new virtual experience so that even more people could enjoy this annual tradition from the comfort and safety of their homes.
As always, EPB Holiday Elves worked tirelessly to create a series of magical holiday scenes. STEM School Chattanooga students also joined in the effort by contributing several seasonal set pieces that they produced in their school “fablab.”
Everyone was invited to join the 2020 EPB Holiday Windows Reveal on Thanksgiving Eve, presented live online on EPB’s website, Facebook and YouTube. Participants had the opportunity be among the first to see this year’s displays, enjoy spectacular music performed by local talent and hear special messages from Mayor Berke and Mayor Coppinger. The EPB Holiday Windows were on display in-person and online from November 25 to January 6.
Engaging students through “STEAM” curriculum
Despite the many challenges students and teachers faced over the last year, EPB continued to show its commitment to education through the third annual “ArtSpark Goes to School” challenge.
The program engages high school students through a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) curriculum in which they learn about electricity while creating original works of art. The students used digital cameras as well as professional graphic design and photography software to create artwork that matches the specifications necessary to wrap EPB utility boxes.
This year, EPB invited students to create a design that showed the power of working together to make our community stronger. From a record-setting number of entries, EPB selected ten student designs. We honored these award-winning students during an event on May 6 outside EPB’s downtown building. The event also recognized the students’ teachers and their schools which included Center for Creative Arts, Central High, CSAS, Hixson High, Sale Creek High and Soddy Daisy High.
EPB now has 25 utility boxes wrapped with student artwork. The locations this year include Bluff View Art District, Downtown Chattanooga City Center, MLK Community, North Shore, Riverfront and Southside.
EPB’s partners include Hamilton County Schools, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, River City Company, ArtsBuild and Public Art Chattanooga.