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Program Announcements from 3/14/2024 to 3/28/2024

Events, Training Opportunities and ConferencesArchive
EmPower+Archive
Residential Energy AssessmentsArchive
Comfort Home PilotArchive
Green Jobs – Green New York Residential FinancingArchive
General AnnouncementsArchive

Events, Training Opportunities and Conferences

NYSERDA Single Family Programs Update

Programs: EmPower+, Residential Energy Assessments, Comfort Home
To: Participating Contractors
Summary: Monthly Contractor Update
Contact with Questions: Empower.residential@nyserda.ny.gov

NYSERDA Single Family Programs Update

Friday,  April 5, 2024

8:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. ET

Webinar number 2534 073 1225

Event password: Energy1

All attendees must register prior to joining the event. This process will allow you to add the meeting to your calendar and provides each individual with a custom link to join the meeting. Please do not share your link with anyone. To register, please click here.

All webinars are recorded and links to the recordings are available on the Contractor Support site.

Training Opportunity

Programs: EmPower+, Residential Energy Assessments, Comfort Home
To: Contractors
Summary: BPI Training and Certificates
Contact with Questions: ngrid.com/bpicertified or email wfinfo@nyserda.ny.gov

NYSERDA and National Grid are offering significantly discounted Building Performance Institute (BPI) training and certifications for qualifying individuals and businesses.

Eligible BPI training and certification pathways offered at a special discounted rate of $150 include:

•            Building Science Principles

•            Building Analyst Technician

•            Building Analyst Professional

•            Multifamily Building Analyst

•            Air Leakage Control Installer

•            Infiltration and Duct Leakage

This special offer is open to individuals who live in:

1) disadvantaged communities and

2) National Grid electric or natural gas utility service territory (Long Island, NYC Metro, or Upstate NY).

Businesses that are Woman-owned, Minority-owned, Indigenous-owned, or Veteran-owned businesses are eligible to have any employees receive training at the discounted rate. Applications can be submitted online .

EmPower+

*NEW* Clarification of EmPower+ Applications with HEAP Award Letters

Program: EmPower+
To: EmPower+ Contractors and Regional Clean Energy Hubs
Summary: Clarification of EmPower+ applications with HEAP award letters dated 10/1/2023 and later
Contact with Questions: Empower.residential@nyserda.ny.gov

The EmPower+ program team is clarifying a miscommunication made during the Single-Family Residential Contractor webinar on March 1, 2024.

 During the webinar, it was stated that EmPower+ Applications with Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) award letters would be accepted, and the application would be placed on hold. To clarify, this is for HEAP recipients in Long Island who would otherwise not be eligible for the EmPower+ program. HEAP customers for the rest of New York can continue to use HEAP award letters for EmPower+ application approval at the $10,000 incentive cap. When OTDA funding is available, these projects will be eligible for $20,000 rather than $10,000. The program’s three year look back is still in effect.

If there are any questions on this, please reach out to contractor support at 1-800-284-9069.

Home Energy Assessment to Customers

Program: EmPower+
To: EmPower+ Contractors
Summary: Contractors must provide a copy of the Home Energy Assessment to customers
Contact with Questions: If there are any questions on this, please reach out to contractor support at 1-800-284-9069.

The EmPower+ program has been receiving many customer complaints about customers not receiving copies of their home energy assessment. Starting on February 13, 2024, CLEAResult will verify that the home energy assessment report was generated in NYHEP as part of final project review. If the report is not present, the project will be pushed back to the contractor to generate the report and provide it to the customer. After the report has been provided to the customer, the contractor can resubmit the project.

Section 5.17 of the Program Manual specifies “The participating contractor shall provide Program participants with a finalized home energy assessment report within 14 calendar days of site visit. The report shall be generated from Program-approved software and include a detailed workscope proposal that identifies measures and pricing for improving the energy efficiency, comfort and safety of the home. The report shall include all energy efficiency, comfort, health and safety opportunities that exist in the home regardless of type of service(s) the participating contractor offers (i.e., a participating contractor with heating certification needs to identify applicable envelope issues in the report) while adhering to the policies and procedures.”

Moving forward, quality assurance inspections will also include an inquiry with customers to see if home energy assessment reports were provided. Initially, scores will not be diminished if a home energy assessment report was not provided to the customer; however, the contractor will be notified to send a copy of the home energy assessment report to the customer. If it is determined that a contractor is not providing their customers with a home energy assessment on a regular basis, CLEAResult Quality Control will work with the contractor to help them remediate this.

In addition to being a Program requirement, upcoming funding from the Inflation Reduction Act will make home energy assessment reports a requirement, where NYSERDA may need to show proof the home energy assessment report was delivered to the customer.

If there are any questions on this, please reach out to contractor support at 1-800-284-9069.

Residential Energy Assessments Program

No Announcements

No Announcements

Comfort Home Pilot

No Announcements

No Announcements

Green Jobs – Green New York Residential Financing Announcements

No Announcements

No Announcements

General Announcements

NYHEP Updates

Programs: EmPower+, Residential Energy Assessments, Comfort Home
To: Contractors
Summary: NYHEP Updates
Contact with Questions: If there are any questions on this, please reach out to contractor support at 1-800-284-9069.

Thank you for your feedback for the NY Home Energy Portal (NYHEP). NYSERDA and our developers are working to make the requested improvements and release enhancements on a monthly cadence.  NYHEP will be updated on March 14, 2024, with the following changes:

  • All users: Ability to choose multiple document types when uploading a file
  • NYSERDA/Implementation users: Enhanced Implementation/Contractor profile features and management tools
  • Numerous back-end data exchange enhancements to streamline reporting and other bug fixes.
Looking to Fill Open Positions at Your Company?

Programs: All
To: All
Summary: NYS Dept of Labor’s new Virtual Career Center
Contact with Questions: homeaudits@nyserda.ny.gov

Looking to fill open positions at your company?

The New York State Department of Labor’s new Virtual Career Center can help you search for qualified job candidates free of charge.

The Virtual Career Center is a powerful job posting and talent sourcing platform using advanced artificial intelligence (AI) to connect businesses to candidates. New York State businesses can source, contact, and advance candidates with a broad range of skills and qualifications all while adhering to state labor and compliance law.