Dominion to offset small business electric bills

New London - Small-business owners in the city are being invited to apply for grants of $1,000 to help offset electricity bills, thanks to a $1 million donation from Millstone Power Station owner Dominion.

The grants are intended mainly to help small businesses owned by women and minorities, but any small-business owner is welcome to apply and no one who meets the other criteria will be turned away, said Bob Slate, small business advocate for the nonprofit group administering the project, Operation Fuel.

The new program, called Project Best, is the first time assistance with utility bills has been offered for small businesses through Operation Fuel in its 35-year history, Slate said. Operation Fuel's main program is providing energy assistance to needy families statewide.

Project Best grants are being made available to small businesses in five distressed communities - Bridgeport, Hartford, New Haven, Waterbury and New London - with varying amounts going to each town depending on population.

Slate said the Dominion donation was combined with a $150,000 contribution from Public Service Electric & Gas Co. to create the new program. Thus far about $213,000 has been distributed to 213 businesses in Hartford.

Applications from New London businesses are being received through March 16. Slate expects there will be sufficient funds for 40 to 50 New London businesses. The grants would be distributed sometime this spring.

Nancy Bulkeley, community affairs representative for Dominion, said the company decided to help created Project Best as a way to bolster small businesses, and had already been involved with Operation Fuel as one of its donors. "This goes along with our core values," she said.

One important component of Project Best, she noted, is a requirement that successful applicants attend a workshop on how to reduce utility bills through energy efficiency measures.

The two-hour workshop will consist of presentations by a utility company representative, a contractor who upgrades homes to improve energy efficiency, and a financial expert who will talk about low-interest loans for small businesses. The New London workshop will take place on the last weekend in March.

Small grocery stores, doctor's offices, hair salons, auto repair shops and retail stores are among the types of businesses that have received the grants thus far, Slate said. To qualify, a business must have been in operation for at least a year, be located in one of the five cities, not be more than 120 days behind on electricity bills, pay $750 to $1,500 per month in electricity bills and have no more than 50 employees.

Applications can be obtained by calling Slate at: (860) 243-2345 or emailing him at: bob@operationfuel.org. They are also available at the New London Mayor's Office by contacting Tammy Daugherty, administrator in the mayor's office, at: (860) 447-5201 or via email at: tdaugherty@ci.new-london@ct.us.