On Aug. 16, 2022, President Joseph R. Biden signed the landmark Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) into law. The law includes $391 billion to support clean energy and address climate change, including $8.8 billion in rebates for home energy efficiency and electrification projects. These home energy rebate programs will help American households save money on energy bills, upgrade to clean energy equipment and improve energy efficiency, and reduce indoor and outdoor air pollution. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) estimates that the historic home energy efficiency and electrification consumer rebates authorized will save households up to $1 billion annually.

The Office of State and Community Energy Programs (SCEP) is working to distribute these funds so that households across the country can soon access these benefits. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 includes two provisions authorizing $8.8 billion in rebates for Home Efficiency Rebates and Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates.

Home Energy Rebate Program funds are not yet available. DOE is currently conducting stakeholder outreach, developing program guidance, and hosting listening sessions with key stakeholders including states, Indian tribes, labor, and industry. Later in 2023, DOE will make funds available to State Energy Offices and Indian tribes, as defined by the law.

Households looking for home energy retrofit assistance today cannot yet access these rebates, but may be eligible for other federal programs, including tax credits or the Weatherization Assistance Program.

In order to prepare for the distribution of these funds to households, the SCEP will allocate funding to States, the District of Columbia, and U.S Territories. SCEP has issued guidance, through the Home Energy Rebate Programs Early Administrative Funds Administrative and Legal Requirements Document (ALRD), to:

1. provide initial guidance for the planning, administration or technical assistance portion of the $8.8 billion Congress appropriated for the Home Energy Rebate Programs formula awards in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Pub. L. 117-169 (August 16, 2022), and
2. alert states that all future distributions of formula awards through the Home Energy Rebate Programs will require the submission to DOE of Home Energy Rebate Program Plans that meet the requirements set out in a future Home Energy Rebate Programs funding ALRD.

DOE has determined that a state may access a portion of the planning, administration, and technical assistance funds from its IRA Sections 50121 and 50122 allocations (“early administrative funds”) to allow the state to begin to hire and conduct a minimum set of planning and administration activities to prepare for submitting Home Energy Rebate Program Plans. To access this limited amount of early administrative funds, states must submit a separate application for each section detailing how these funds will be used to help prepare the state to apply for the Home Energy Rebate Programs funding and begin the early stages of setting up the state programs. This ALRD details the specific elements that each application must meet and sets out the parameters by which states may request a portion of their funds to prepare Home Energy Rebate Program Plans. DOE will issue a subsequent ALRD detailing programmatic requirements, at which point states can apply for additional funds available in their allocations. DOE anticipates providing this additional guidance in Summer 2023.