On June 1, the U.S. Department of Energy issued an update to how it will implement consumer programs within its Home Energy Rebates Program. Changes impact both the Home Owner Managing Energy Savings (HOMES) rebates and the High-Efficiency Electric Home Rebate (HEEHR) Program — both core elements of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). This revised guidance, among other things, no longer supports rebates for consumers who want to transition from gas to electric appliances for cooking, home heating, and beyond. The changes also remove guidelines that ensure under-resourced families are prioritized in the program by removing diversity and equity-focused considerations for disbursement of the funding and make ENERGY STAR optional for states.
Fresh Energy and clean energy advocates around the country understand the positive impact that federal policy, such as the HOMES and HEEHRs programs, have on the wellbeing of our states and communities. Unfortunately, the new HOMES and HEEHR program guidance is fundamentally misguided and comes at a time when energy and housing costs are rising and the adverse health and climate impacts of using fossil fuel appliances indoors is clearer than ever.
This change is a significant departure from the types of programs and guidelines our federal government should be providing Americans during an affordability crunch. Moving the goalpost on dedicated federal funding, processes, and regulations that have a proven track record of increasing affordability and helping mitigate climate impacts is step in the wrong direction.
Now more than ever, it’s clear that states must lead. When the federal government is doing less, Minnesota must do more. Throughout our 35-year history Fresh Energy has developed deep and robust expertise in driving and leveraging state-level policy action here in Minnesota. Our approach to advancing clean energy policy while also providing a defensive bulwark against policies that aim to undo clean energy and climate progress are more critical now than ever.