HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – A team from Huntsville Utilities will receive $6.29 million as a first round award winner in the Extreme Energy Makeovers project, part of the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Smart Communities program.

The Huntsville Utilities team included the City of Huntsville, the United Way of Madison County, Care Assurance System for the Aging and Homebound of Madison County, the Salvation Army and Community Action Partnership of Huntsville, Madison and Limestone counties.

The Extreme Energy Makeovers project focuses on improvements to homes that are at least 20 years old and located in lower-income communities. The project’s goal is to achieve a 25 percent reduction in each home’s electric energy use through cost- effective, whole-home retrofits, with an estimated total project savings of 1,000 megawatt-hours per year at approximately $10 per square foot.

“We are excited to partner with the Huntsville team on this innovative project designed to aid low-income homeowners,” said Cindy Herron, vice president of TVA EnergyRight and Renewable Solutions.

“This award is the result of the City of Huntsville and its community partners coming together in an extraordinary demonstration of teamwork to help those with the greatest need save money while making their homes more energy efficient,” she said.

The project takes a community approach to improving the quality of life for residents and homeowners by increasing the energy efficiency and comfort of their homes. This will be achieved by improving the home’s insulation, upgrading the heating and cooling systems and other technologies within the home, performing audits before and after improvements are made to determine the energy savings, as well as educating the residents or homeowners about the preferred operation and proper care of the home and its systems.

TVA will now pursue contractual arrangements with Huntsville Utilities and its partners, and will target June 2015 to begin project construction. Additional awards will be announced later.

The Tennessee Valley Authority is a corporate agency of the United States that provides electricity for business customers and local power companies serving 9 million people in parts of seven southeastern states. TVA receives no taxpayer funding, deriving virtually all of its revenues from sales of electricity. In addition to operating and investing its revenues in its electric system, TVA provides flood control, navigation and land management for the Tennessee River system and assists local power companies and state and local governments with economic development and job creation.