Nonprofit saluted for lowering energy costs and usage

A consortium of energy companies honored a nonprofit organization’s efforts to provide energy-efficient housing for northern Illinois families.

Mercy Housing Lakefront, a Chicago-based regional branch of a national nonprofit headquartered in Denver, earned a Premier Partner Award from Multi-Family Energy Savings (MFES).

Mercy received the award June 30 at Colony Park Apartments in Carol Stream.

Mercy Housing serves properties in suburban Cook, DuPage, Kane and Lake counties, in addition to parts of Chicago, as well as Kankakee and Vermillion counties.

MFES is a collaboration between ComEd, Nicor Gas, North Shore Gas and People’s Gas that helps people living in multifamily communities, as well as property owners, access energy efficiency upgrades that can lower energy usage and costs.

Mercy Housing was acknowledged for its work with northern Illinois energy companies between 2022 and 2025. The nonprofit worked with the MFES companies to install energy-efficient appliances and equipment in more than 2,000 affordable-housing units, officials said.

Receiving more than $1.5 million in incentives to help offset installation costs, Mercy was able to help lower costs for residents.

Mercy Housing’s efforts produced total energy savings of more than 417,000 kilowatt-hours and 48,000 therms, a unit measuring energy consumption.

The savings helped prevent nearly 1.4 million pounds of carbon emissions, the equivalent of annually removing 150 cars from the road, or planting nearly 650 acres of trees, according to Partners for Energy Efficiency.

Mark Angelini, regional president of Mercy Housing, said the reduced energy consumption at the properties reflected a cost savings of nearly $650,000.

“The cost savings at our properties were channelled to fund programs serving the residents living there,” he said while receiving MFES’ Premier Partner Award.