DRCOG energy-advising program accepts inquiries; Englewood work planned for Aug. 24

A regional building-energy advising program funded by a $199.7 million federal grant is accepting inquiries from homeowners and building owners. Englewood’s local assessment work is scheduled to begin Aug. 24, according to regional and city records.

The program, called Power Ahead Colorado, is funded through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grant program. DRCOG received the grant for a five-year effort to move the Denver region toward a zero-emission residential and commercial building sector by 2050, according to DRCOG’s grant overview.

The Power Ahead Colorado website directs homeowners and building owners to request help by calling 844-303-9333 or emailing info@advising.poweraheadcolorado.org. Advisers can help with project planning, heat pumps and potential financial support. The site does not list an online application or a city-by-city eligibility map.

Who may be eligible

DRCOG’s workplan describes the service as free, data-driven, client-focused and vendor-neutral. It is intended for properties ranging from single-family homes to large commercial and multifamily buildings, including owner-occupied and landlord-operated properties and buildings governed by condominium or homeowners associations.

Low-income and disadvantaged communities are to receive priority and twice the consultation hours available to other properties. The DRCOG workplan projects advising 34,000 residential units and 5,800 businesses or buildings over five years.

Advising is separate from a planned rebate-and-incentive program. The workplan allocates about $43.1 million for rebates and incentives intended to reduce the upfront cost of electrification and other decarbonization projects. The records reviewed do not establish that property owners must commit to an upgrade, select a contractor or provide matching funds to receive advising.

DRCOG describes Power Ahead Colorado as a Denver-metro program, which includes Englewood. But the materials reviewed do not provide detailed requirements for income, documentation, property ownership or owner consent.

Englewood’s application and grant reporting

An Englewood Sustainability Commission briefing prepared for an Aug. 11 meeting says the city applied for a second round of funding for residential and commercial energy assessments. It does not say whether the application was approved, rejected or remains pending. The presentation lists “BES starting August 24,” referring to the local building-energy assessment work. The briefing materials are agenda materials, not minutes documenting a meeting outcome.

The briefing also says Englewood was “wrapping up grant reporting worth over $1 million” for building electrification and electric-vehicle charging. It does not identify the grants, provide an itemized total or confirm that the reports were submitted and accepted.

A separate city budget document identifies $228,802 in 100% grant-funded DRCOG work from 2026 through Sept. 30, 2029. The listed activities may include staff, training, consultants, energy-code compliance, outreach and education, the budget packet says. That figure is not the total of Englewood’s earlier electrification and charging grants or the amount requested in the second round.

As of Aug. 9, the records establish that regional energy advising is available and that Englewood’s local assessment work is scheduled to start Aug. 24. They do not establish the outcome of Englewood’s second-round application or whether its existing grant reports have been completed and accepted.