PROVIDENCE — Rhode Island has received nearly $32 million from the federal government to help residents make their homes more energy efficient and reduce the cost of their utilities, the first program of its kind in New England, Governor Dan McKee’s office said Tuesday.
The Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates (HEAR) program run by the state’s Office of Energy Resources secured the money from the Department of Energy to fund the rebate-based initiative.
“The state is using its federal Home Energy Rebates funding to help its residents update their electrical panels and wiring, and upgrade to electric stoves and heat pump clothes dryers,” US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a news release.
The new program is geared toward low- and moderate-income residents. Rhode Islanders can learn if they qualify for the rebates through what Governor McKee’s office said was a free energy audit that can be conducted through a local Community Action Agency, entities that work on issues affecting economically disadvantaged communities.
If a resident qualifies for the funds, they can receive $2,500 for updated electric wiring, $4,000 for electric load service centers (the panels that distribute power in a home), and a little over $1,800 for energy-efficient appliances. Moderate-income households can secure $1,250 for electric wiring, $2,000 for electric load service centers, and $420 for energy-efficient appliances, McKee’s office said in a statement.
“This initiative is another positive step in reducing our state’s carbon emissions,” McKee said in the statement. “We are looking forward to the next phase of the program, when moderate-income households will have access to these rebates.”
The funds granted to Rhode Island are part of billions of dollars from the Inflation Reduction Act that President Joe Biden signed into law two years ago.
“I was very glad to help secure federal funding in Democrats’ historic Inflation Reduction Act to jumpstart Rhode Island’s Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates program, which was designed to help working families who are getting squeezed by high utility bills,” Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse said in a news release.
US Senator Jack Reed said “these rebates will lower household energy costs and fight climate change.”
Omar Mohammed can be reached at omar.mohammed@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter (X) @shurufu.
