Operation Fuel, Eversource to hold ice house event in Hartford
Hartford — How does it feel to suffer through winter in a freezing home?
Residents will have an opportunity to find out inside the Old State House in downtown Hartford on Thursday, where Operation Fuel is building a 15-by-15-foot house of giant blocks of ice to demonstrate how thousands of lower-income families and seniors must live because they can't afford high energy costs.
"We are going to be sitting on ice. We are going to be sitting within ice walls and we are going to feel what it is like not to have the heat and lights on," Brenda Watson, executive director of Operation Fuel, said in a statement. Operation Fuel provides year-round emergency energy assistance to lower-income families and individuals, the elderly and disabled people in a financial crisis.
Operation Fuel says half a million households in Connecticut cannot afford the cost of basic needs, including energy bills.
"We're always mindful of the effect the price of power has on our customers, particularly those who are facing financial circumstances," said Rod Powell, president of corporate citizenship at Eversource, a sponsor of the event. "Like our customers, we have no control over fluctuating energy prices, but we do all we can to help them save energy where they can. Partnering with Operation Fuel on events like this and the very successful add-a-dollar program, we're helping to bridge the gap for struggling families."
Eversource has worked with Operation Fuel since the energy assistance program's founding in 1977.
The ice house will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday. The ice house will be constructed the night before by professional ice sculptors from Ice Matters.
Operation Fuel said it would provide information on energy assistance programs and that the event would feature music, mascots and food trucks. There is no charge for public entry into the ice house, but Operation Fuel encourages a donation of $5 per person.
Operation Fuel also is offering a workplace campaign dubbed "Chill Out," letting groups, clubs or companies nominate a representative to occupy the ice house for 15 minutes. For more information, visit bit.ly/CTicehouse.
Operation Fuel encourages anyone who needs energy assistance to call 211.
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