Portland is hoping to distribute another 10,000 free air conditioners to qualifying residents by the end of next year. People can apply by calling 311, or by filling out an online form.
The program has already exceeded its initial goal to deliver 15,000 units in less than five years.
FILE - Juana Pascual Pascual and her child Frankie Gaspar, then age 2, at their second-floor Portland apartment, in 2022. They received a free cooling/heating unit through the Portland Clean Energy Fund.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
The Portland Clean Energy Fund’s Cooling Portland offers a free energy-efficient portable air conditioning unit to qualified city residents with lower incomes. It was created after the deadly 2021 heat dome when nearly 100 people died of heat-related stress throughout the state. As of Thursday, the program has installed more than 15,770 units, exceeding its original 2022 goal.
Cooling Portland is one of the last major government-backed programs still connecting Oregonians to in-home cooling systems, after two other programs that were also set up in response to the heat dome both exhausted funding.
In the 2021 heat dome event, many people who died of heat-related illnesses were found home alone with no air conditioning units.
Both the Oregon Department of Energy and the Oregon Health Authority created programs that also offer qualified Oregonians access to heat pumps either by offering rebates or getting them for free. But the popularity of the programs has caused them to run out of funding.
Climate and environmental groups are calling on legislators to allocate funds to those programs to keep them going, but it’s unclear if lawmakers will answer the call.
Last year, the Oregon Department of Energy study found many of the state’s most vulnerable residents lack the necessary equipment to stay cool in their homes during hot summers. The study also found that residents in Multnomah County are more likely to be exposed to extreme heat and have limited capacity to adapt to it.
PCEF strategic partnerships and policy manager Jaimes Valdez said Cooling Portland is hoping to fill that gap. The program is funded through the Portland Clean Energy Fund. Last year, city councilors allocated an additional $10.3 million to continue the program.
“We’re really excited that the program has been successful in meeting those goals ahead of time, and we reached a little over 15,000 units a few weeks ago,” he said. “…We were able to reach that five-year goal in about 3.5 years. So the new goal is 25,000 units total by the end of next year and we intend to install 10,000 additional units over the next year and a half.”
The program is for low-income Portlanders who live within the city limits, who can’t otherwise offer to buy the equipment for themselves. Priority goes to people over the age of 60, people living alone and people with medical conditions that make them more susceptible to heat.
As temperatures continue to increase, with more summer days exceeding 90 degrees Fahrenheit, programs like Cooling Portland are helping the city’s most vulnerable residents receive some relief from the heat while in their homes.
“A big learning from the first few years of the program is that there’s a lot of demand and a lot of need out there, and that we are in a new climate reality, where we’re seeing many, many more hot days over 80 or so degrees each summer — and that people need access to cooling," Valdez said. “And this program can fill that gap and fill that need for some people who are income eligible.”
To help qualified people access the program, Cooling Portland partnered with PDX 311, a city program aimed at simplifying access to local government programs, including Cooling Portland.
“They definitely have been receiving increased calls, anytime the temperatures go up above about 85 degrees, I think people are more aware of the heat risk, and we all feel it,” he said. “Our understanding is that earlier this week, as we had a pretty hot weekend, they received a little over 1,100 calls total, with about half of those being related to Cooling Portland.”
The PDX 311 phone line is staffed seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. People can apply online here.
PCEF partnered with Earth Advantage, a local organization in charge of buying the units, managing inventory and coordinating with community partners with delivery and installation.
“Meeting the original goal early is a testament to the strength of the systems we’ve built with our distribution partners,” Earth Advantage senior climate justice program manager Pilar Calderin said in a statement. “But it also shows the depth of need in our community. With continued support, we’re committed to reaching the thousands more Portlanders who still need help to stay healthy during extreme heat.”
As the weather heats up, Earth Advantage expects installations to increase.
