Households in Pennsylvania should get access to new rebates for electric appliances and home improvements that boost energy efficiency this year.
Outgoing President Joe Biden’s administration approved applications for federal funding to run home energy rebate programs from close to two dozen states — including Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey — just before President Donald Trump ordered federal agencies to pause grant spending under the climate law that funded the rebates.
“This is good news for homeowners and tenants,” Randy Libros, a volunteer with the nonpartisan Pennsylvania advocacy organization POWER Interfaith, wrote in an email. “It’s also good news for the environment as these programs can help us to transition away from fossil fuels.”
In the Delaware Valley, Pennsylvania received the largest federal award for its rebate programs: $260 million. New Jersey received nearly $183 million, while Delaware received close to $66 million. The rebates can cover energy-efficient appliances and home improvements including electric stoves, electric heat pump HVAC systems, hot water heaters and clothes dryers, insulation, air sealing and electric wiring.
“We’re investing in a way that fights climate change,” said Alejandra Mejia Cunningham, senior manager of state buildings policy, climate & energy at the Natural Resources Defense Council. “At the same time it is also improving our health, comfort and — bottom line — budgets.”
The rebate funding was part of a last-minute push by the Biden Administration to get climate-related funding out the door before he left office. Biden’s Department of Energy also announced Friday it had reached a deal with the controversial Mid-Atlantic Clean Hydrogen Hub, or MACH2, and awarded the hub more than $18 million to start developing hydrogen production facilities.
Changes under Trump
On his first day in office, President Trump declared a “National Energy Emergency,” encouraging executive agencies to use emergency authorities to boost production of oil, gas, coal, uranium, geothermal and hydropower, and temporarily halted leasing and permitting for wind energy projects.
The United States already produces the most oil and gas of any other country. Oil production hit a record under Biden, while oil company profits boomed. The burning of fossil fuels contributes to climate change, which increases temperatures, drives stronger storms and lengthens the wildfire weather season.
Trump also started the process of withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement Monday and ordered agency heads to review all regulations that restrict “consumer choice” of appliances. Experts have said Biden-era energy efficiency standards for appliances would be difficult for the new administration to reverse.
Rebates help low-income households
While Biden’s expanded tax credits for home electrification and energy efficiency under the Inflation Reduction Act have disproportionately benefited wealthy households, the home energy rebate programs are expected to help low- to moderate-income households afford home improvements that will reduce their energy bills. In Philadelphia, Black, Hispanic and low-income residents spend more of their income on energy costs than households overall.
“These rebates are really important because they help working families in the United States access dollars that help lower the cost of these better, more efficient machines that are going to save them money on their energy bills,” said Ari Matusiak, CEO of Rewiring America, a national nonprofit that promotes electrification and related government rebates and tax credits.
States design their rebate programs within guidelines set by the U.S. Department of Energy under the Biden Administration, which require some of the money be reserved for families under certain income thresholds.
State rollouts to start in ‘early 2025’
Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey all plan to launch their rebate programs this year, with Pennsylvania aiming for rollout of some rebates in “early 2025.”
The three states plan to offer all types of rebates available under the federal program, including rebates for appliances, home electrification infrastructure and energy-saving home retrofits. Pennsylvania plans to restrict the energy-saving home retrofit rebates to multifamily housing.
Income eligibility requirements for some of the rebates will vary by state, but all three states plan to restrict appliance rebates to households earning no more than 150% of area median income.
It’s crucial that the rebates reach low-income neighborhoods with high rates of energy poverty, said Pamela Darville, a volunteer with POWER Interfaith who helps lead the organization’s climate justice and jobs team. She wants to see Pennsylvania do extensive outreach about the programs in these communities, make the application user-friendly and available in multiple languages, partner with community-based organizations to find eligible applicants, offer long-term maintenance assistance and ensure the rebates reduce costs up front, so there’s no need for families to wait to be reimbursed.
“Those are just some of the things that we think will lay the foundation for equitable rollout by the state,” Darville said. “We all want energy-efficient appliances, but some of us just can’t afford it.”