February 14, 2025, Washington, DC, US Department of Energy
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California suspended its rebate program, which offers thousands of dollars to consumers who make homes and appliances more energy efficient, due to the Trump administration’s freeze.
A few other states have recently suspended the program, but California is the biggest state so far to slow its rollout. It’s throwing $582 million at risk for consumers and program management.
California issued its first rebate checks to consumers in February, according to the state Energy Commission.
“Many states were just starting their programs and suddenly they were in disarray,” said Lowell Unger, director of federal policy at the U.S. Council for an energy-efficient economy.
The program in question, the Home Energy Rebate, was created through the Inflation Reduction Act. President Biden signed the law in 2022.
The law allocated federal funds of up to $8.8 billion to states, territories and the District of Columbia to control consumers in the form of rebates.
Consumers were offered housing efficiency rebates of up to $8,000 and home electrification and appliance rebates of up to $14,000 in accordance with federal law. The maximum amount varies from household to household, depending on factors such as income eligibility.
The rebate is intended to reduce the costs of home upgrades, such as installing insulation pumps, installing heat pumps, and purchasing efficient electrical appliances such as electric stoves. The aim is to reduce consumer energy bills and reduce the carbon emissions that warm the planet.
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All states except South Dakota had applied for federal funds. The U.S. Department of Energy approved these applications, and the state was in various stages of deployment by the end of the Biden administration.
However, on January 27, the Trump administration frozen federal fund payments that contradict the president’s agenda, including initiatives related to green energy and climate change.
The fate of that freeze is in the air as the courts hamper legal agendas to policy.
The U.S. Department of Energy did not return a request from CNBC for comment.
According to the California Energy Commission’s website, the California Energy Commission launched the first phase of its $80 million home energy rebate program in the fall — suspended the program on February 25th.
Commission staff said the suspension remains “until the Trump administration provides additional information on funding.”
California has been approved for funding for the second largest tranche for its energy rebate program, after only Texas. (The U.S. Energy Agency awarded Texas $689 million, according to an archived federal government website.)
The Texas Energy Conservation Office did not reply to requests for comment regarding the program’s status.
Since January 31st, California has failed to successfully cut its management costs to implement the rebate program, according to the California Energy Commission’s website. The U.S. Energy Agency has also removed information from its website about its home energy rebate program, the CEC said.
However, not all states have suspended the program.
For example, Maine and North Carolina officials recently confirmed to CNBC that funding is now available through the rebate program.
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality is “examined for federal measures that could change the operation of the Energy Saver NC program,” the spokesperson said in an email statement.
When it comes to managing these programs and issuing rebates when it is unclear whether they will ultimately be refunded, different conditions could have “different risk tolerances,” Ungar said.
