NC Department of Environmental Quality, State Energy Office NC Weatherization Assistance Program PUBLIC HEARING ON PROPOSED ADOPTION OF NC WEATHERIZATION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM SERVICE PROVIDER The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) State Energy Office (SEO) will conduct a public hearing to receive comments on the proposed adoption of a regional service provider in eastern North Carolina for the NC Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), as required by federal regulations. The program saves North Carolinians energy, reduces utility bills and increases home comfort and safety by providing free weatherization services for income-eligible households. WAP is federally funded on an annual basis. Under the 2021 IIJA, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), NC's WAP was appropriated an additional $89 million for the purpose of enhancing energy efficiency in income-eligible households statewide. The focus of this hearing is the proposed adoption of the following service provider and associated service territory under the IIJA WAP program: New North Carolina Project (NNCP): Region 2 service territory, which includes Brunswick, Carteret, Craven, Duplin, Greene, Jones, Lenoir, New Hanover, Onslow, Pamlico, Pender and Wayne counties NNCP was conditionally approved by DEQ to be the service provider for Region 2 following a competitive Request for Proposal process, which opened on Dec. 5, 2025, and closed on Jan. 23, 2026. NNCP will be awarded approximately $5 million to be the regional service provider until 2029 or depletion of funds. The public hearing will be hybrid and held on Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at 4 p.m. at the DEQ Green Square Office Building, 217 W. Jones St., Raleigh, NC 27603, 1st Floor Training Room (#1210). For information concerning the hybrid public hearing and accessing associated documentation, please visit: www.deq.nc.gov/wap-hearings. Comments may be submitted by email to seo.publiccomments@deq.nc.gov or by postal mail to: NC Department of Environmental Quality Weatherization Assistance Program 1613 Mail Service Center Raleigh, NC 27699-1613 To be included in the hearing record, all comments must be postmarked, emailed, or received by SEO (if delivered in person) no later than April 10, 2026. IPL0322331 Mar 16 2026