Heinrich Announces Over $87 Million Allocated To New Mexico For Home Energy Rebate Program

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), founder and c-chair of the Electrification Caucus, announced $87,742,040 that will be available to the State of New Mexico and Tribes in the state from the Inflation Reduction Act for consumer home energy rebate programs, enabling communities to make homes more energy efficient, upgrade electric appliances, and cut energy costs.

 

The new rebate program for electric appliances was established by Senator Heinrich, mirroring legislation he introduced, the Zero-Emission Homes Act, to provide upfront, point-of-sale rebates for the purchase and installation of electric appliances and equipment in single-family homes and multifamily buildings, with additional support for low- and moderate- income households.

 

“New Mexicans stand to benefit more than almost anyone else from the benefits of electric technologies—from heat pumps for home heating and cooling to induction stovetops and electric clothes dryers,” said Heinrich. “These home appliances have already leapfrogged their fossil fuel-powered alternatives in terms of both efficiency and performance. Supercharging our manufacturing of these clean, electric, and highly efficient solutions and helping many more families install them in their homes will lead to major health benefits and substantial savings on energy costs.”

 

The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that the historic home energy efficiency and electrification consumer rebates authorized will save households up to $1 billion annually. Inflation Reduction Act programs will include the installation of clean energy equipment like heat pumps that will lower energy costs for American families, improve indoor air quality, decrease dependence on fossil fuels, and cut greenhouse gas emissions.

 

Senator Heinrich encourages the State of New Mexico and Tribes to participate in a series of listening sessions held by DOE on these consumer rebate programs. Following the listening sessions, DOE will issue a Request for Information for public input in early 2023. DOE anticipates that the funding to states and Tribes will be available by Spring 2023, and the rebates will be available to the public later in the year.

 

The Inflation Reduction Act includes multiple tax incentives and investments to bolster consumer home energy rebate programs which are critical for improving local air quality and public health, and cutting U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. With a total of nearly $9 billion to be made available through states and Tribes for consumer home energy rebate programs, focused on low-income consumers, communities will be able to electrify home appliances and perform energy efficient retrofits.

 

Programs that states will implement include: The high-efficiency electric home rebate program to:

New Mexicans looking to identify all the ways they can use the Inflation Reduction Act to electrify their lives can visit the easy-to-use Inflation Reduction Act benefits calculator created by Rewiring America, a nonprofit focused on promoting electrification.