Congressman Deluzio Helps Unfreeze $400,000 Federal Grant for Local Energy Efficiency Projects

CARNEGIE, PA — Today, Congressman Chris Deluzio (PA-17) celebrated that with his office’s assistance, the U.S. Department of Energy has unfrozen $400,000 in funding to Energy Efficiency Empowerment (E3)— a fiscally-sponsored project of local nonprofit New Sun Rising. E3 helps to retrofit existing buildings in low-income communities to make them more energy efficient.

The organization had received the first round of funding from the Building Upgrade Prize grant in October of 2023, and was able to complete nine neighborhood improvement projects in partnership with local nonprofit developers. In January of 2025, as they were expecting to receive the second round of funding, E3 lost all communication from the Department of Energy's Building Technologies Office—the program had been paused without justification. Following outreach from Congressman Deluzio’s office, the money is now unfrozen and is available to the nonprofit to continue implementation of the 25 home energy efficiency projects for which the grant was intended.

“The high cost of living is making the American Dream seem more and more unrealistic for folks, and utility costs are a big part of that. This funding is estimated to help lower utility costs by $500 per year for many Western Pennsylvanians—that's real money back to help make life better,” said Congressman Deluzio. “I’m proud that our work to unfreeze this grant was a success, but this funding never should have been frozen in the first place. I’m concerned that the Department of Energy has removed some key pages about this grant program from their website, making it hard for organizations to plan. I’m urging the Administration to fully restore this program and keep these resources flowing to help lower utility costs for people feeling squeezed by rising costs.”

“We sincerely thank Congressman Deluzio and his office for their steadfast advocacy in helping to secure the release of frozen federal funds,” said Lucy de Barbaro, E3 Director. “We are also deeply grateful to the many lawyers and organizations who swiftly mobilized and worked tirelessly to challenge the funding freezes in courts. In particular, we are thankful for the invaluable insight and groundwork provided by Lawyers for Good Government and the Environmental Protection Network. Fair Shake Environmental Legal Services, with financial backing from the Heinz Endowments, started legal action on our behalf, and we are proud to acknowledge their role in this victory. While the future of the full Buildings Upgrade Prize program—originally planned to run from 2023 to 2028—remains uncertain, we are thrilled to continue our mission of advancing energy efficiency and long-term housing affordability for another year.” 

The Department of Energy’s “Buildings Up Prize,” administered by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), is designed to support innovative approaches to retrofitting buildings, to include high performance technologies.  

The Trump Administration’s efforts to freeze funding and pause federal grants has created significant uncertainty for grantees, varying by agency and program. As of now, the courts have paused many of these freezes. However, Congressman Deluzio’s office will continue to monitor these developments and fight to make sure this congressionally-authorized funding will keep flowing to projects that make life better for Western Pennsylvanians. If you are the recipient of a federal grant and have been notified that this funding is no longer available to you or are experiencing other issues accessing your lawfully appropriated funds, please share your concerns with Congressman Deluzio’s office at PA17Grants@mail.house.gov.   

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