The Warren-Forest Economic Opportunity Council (EOC) will soon see the true effect of federal stimulus money on job creation.

Governor Ed Rendell announced Thursday that the first installment of $123 million in federal recovery funds for weatherization will begin to be released on Nov. 2, part of $253 million that the state will use for this purpose.

"The weatherization program stimulates the economy in several ways," Rendell said. "It saves money on energy bills for people who need it the most, and keeps those dollars circulating in local communities because families will be able to spend more on food, clothing and other necessities. It also will create new jobs in the growing green economic development sector."

With an allocation of $3,334,765 for the Warren-Forest EOC, Executive Director Bob Raible explained how the funds help a lot of people locally.

The EOC serves Warren, Forest and Venango counties. In Venango County, the services are sub-contracted out to another agency, but still draws from the same pool of money.

"We are anticipating doing an additional 437 homes throughout the three counties," he said of the weatherization program.

Weatherization is process by which a home is audited and then modified to reduce energy consumption. Weatherization measures include replacing inefficient appliances, windows and installing better insulation.

In addition to helping more people, the stimulus money will allow the agency to hire more in-house employees for weatherization audits and give work to local contractors once the audits are complete.

"We intend on hiring, here, probably at least five, maybe six more staff members," Raible indicated.

Although some agencies in the state directly hire people to repair furnaces and do the other working that weatherization entails, Warren-Forest EOC doesn't. Instead, the agency sub-contracts the work to local contractors, thus creating even more jobs.

"The one contractor we have dealt with for years...has hired already more guys for his crew," Raible said.

The EOC's contract with the state for the utilization of the stimulus money will expire on March 31, 2012.

Households with more energy consumption will be targeted first.

"We have been a comprehensive list of high energy users from (Pennsylvania) Department of Community and Economic Development," Raible said, adding that list was compiled using data from utilities companies.

According to the governor's office, Recovery Act weatherization rules increase income-eligibility to 200 percent of the poverty level, which would be $44,100 per year for a family of four. Additionally, the dollar amount for work per household is $6,500, up from $2,500 denoted under the state's Weatherization Assistance Program.

Rendell said the commonwealth is establishing a strong oversight, monitoring and reporting program to ensure Pennsylvania's transparency and accountability with the unprecedented infusion of funds.