July 15, 2016—Big changes are happening at the National Energy and Utility Affordability Coalition (NEUAC) this year. The NEUAC board of directors announced this week that they had chosen Katrina Metzler as the organization’s new Executive Director. In addition to this news, NEUAC has also announced that it has moved the main office for the organization from Denver to Arlington, Virginia.
In 2013, the National Fuel Funds Network (NFFN) and the National Low Income Energy Consortium (NLIEC) joined forces to create a new nonprofit organization, NEUAC, in an effort to create a “broad-based coalition of diverse organizations and individuals dedicated to heightening awareness of the energy needs of low income energy consumers…”
Members of the coalition engage in a variety of activities to advocate on behalf of low-income energy consumers but is best known for hosting the annual NEUAC Conference. The 100+ members of NEUAC represent fuel funds, utility companies, and non-profit service delivery partners across the across the U.S.
Metzler took over as Executive Director of NEUAC shortly after the NEUAC Conference in June, where she was first formally introduced to the NEUAC Board of Directors. According to NEUAC’s recent press release, Metzler brings to the organization her experience working as Executive Director for a non-profit in Ohio, the Fairfield County Family, Adult and Children First Council, and as the Energy Services Director and Energy Policy Advisor with the National Association for State Community Services Programs (NASCSP). She is also a member of the State Energy Advisory Board where she previously served with former Assistant Secretary of Energy, Dr. David Danielson, where she helped represent the needs of low-income customers who receive weatherization.
NEUAC Board President, Chad Quinn, expressed the organization’s excitement to have Metzler on board. In moving the organization headquarters to the Washington D.C. area and hiring Metzler, he states, the NEUAC board hopes to put the coalition in closer proximity to policy leaders and advisors on the Hill, along with more effectively addressing the energy and utility issues that impact low- and limited-income households.
Sources: Press Release, LIHEAP Clearinghouse
