Program Announcements from 12/24/2025 to 1/7/2026

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

NYSERDA Home Modernization Monthly Contractor Webinar
Friday, January 9, 2026
8:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. ET

Webinar number: 2538 916 5659
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.

Regarding Programs: EmPower+ and Comfort Home
Summary: Holiday Impacts on EmPower+ and Comfort Home Program
Contact: See Below

NYSERDA wishes you and your family a happy and safe holiday season. Please see below read on for EmPower+ and Comfort Home program staff and implementation staff hours for the end of December and beginning of January.

CLOSURES:

• Wednesday, December 24: CLEAResult 
• Thursday, December 25: NYSERDA, TRC & CLEAResult 
• Thursday, January 1: NYSERDA, TRC & CLEAResult 

Customer Support

 The 1-866-NYSERDA/877-NYSMART number will not be staffed on Thursday, December 25th or Thursday, January 1st.

Contractor Support

Participating contractors working in the field in need of emergency approval may contact the following people on the designated day:

• Wednesday, December 24: Rebecca Lloyd (518-598-6991)
• Thursday, December 25: Adam Badger (838-291-0965)
• Thursday, January 1:  Sarah Knoell (518-207-4527)

 For non-urgent matters, contact Contractor Support (support.residential@nyserda.ny.gov) or (800) 284-9069; requests will be returned following the holiday in the order they were left.

Invoices

EmPower+:

With the holidays, there will only be one invoice processed for the weeks of December 22 and December 29 per the schedule below.

• Tuesday, December 23, 2025 
• Tuesday, December 30, 2025 

Incentive invoicing processing will return to twice per week beginning the week of January 5th.

Comfort Home:

Weekly invoices are expected to be processed during the weeks of December 22 and December 29.

Program/s: EmPower+ and Comfort Home
To: Participating Contractors
Summary: NYHEP Enrollment Summary Updates
Contact with Questions: Please reach out to Contractor Support at 1-800-284-9069 with any questions

Enhancements were recently made to the Enrollment Summary in NYHEP, increasing visibility into the specific circumstances of an enrollment. The updates are:

1. Enrollment Summary “Flags”
   1. Contractors may see one or more new “flags” in red text in the Enrollment Summary. These flags are intended to better guide the Program Implementer when prioritizing Workscope Reviews. The current set of flags includes:
      1. Resubmission (EmPower+ and Comfort Home)
      2. No Heat (EmPower+)
      3. Heat Pump (EmPower+)
      4. Tertiary Review (EmPower+)
      5. Express Eligible (EmPower+)

Example Enrollment Summary Flag:

2. Enrollment Cancelation Reasons
   1. If an enrollment is canceled, the reason for cancelation is now viewable in the Enrollment Summary and Enrollment Notes sections.

Example Canceled Enrollment Reason:

Example Enrollment Note:

NYSERDA recently completed a series of Comfort Home training courses for Participating Contractors as the Program migrated to the NYHEP Portal. The webinar recording and slides are now available on the Contractor Support website and the Comfort Home SharePoint.

To: Participating Contractors, Hubs, Program Stakeholders
Summary: 2025-2026 HEAP Opening Date
Questions: NYSHEAP@otda.ny.gov

NYSERDA is forwarding along this communication received from the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance regarding HEAP assistance:

Dear HEAP Stakeholder,

We are pleased to announce that applications for the Regular benefit component for the 2025-2026 Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) will be accepted beginning December 1, 2025. This information supersedes any prior communication.

We appreciate your patience during this difficult time. We value our continued partnership and thank you for your ongoing dedication to serving New York State’s most vulnerable populations. If you have any questions, you can reach us at NYSHEAP@otda.ny.gov.

To: Participating Contractors, Hubs, Program Stakeholders
Summary: HERR Assistance
Questions: NYSHEAP@otda.ny.gov

NYSERDA is forwarding along this communication received from the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance regarding HEAP/HERR assistance:

We are writing to inform you of recent changes to the New York State (NYS) Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA)’s Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) for the 2025-2026 program year.

In October, we informed you of a pause in the Heating Equipment Repair and Replacement (HERR) program for the 2025-2026 program year. We are pleased to announce that funding is now available for HERR beginning December 11, 2025. Due to limited funding, HERR benefits will be available only to applicants aged 60 or older that own their home. If there is more than one documented homeowner, at least one must be aged 60 or above at the time of application and live in the home as their primary residence. All other eligibility requirements remain the same.

Beginning December 11, 2025, households may apply for HERR by contacting their local social services district. Homeowners that do not meet the additional eligibility requirement may still be referred to Public Assistance.

We value our continued partnership and welcome your feedback or questions. You can reach us at NYSHEAP@otda.ny.gov. Thank you for your dedication to serving NY’s most vulnerable populations.

NYSERDA is working to update our No-Heat guidance as quickly as possible. Please check the Contractor Support site for updated documents.

Program/s: Quality & Market Standards, EmPower+
To: EmPower+ Contractors
Summary: QMS Nonconformance Training
Contact with Questions:  inspections@nyserda.ny.gov

Details: Training on top non-conformances seen in the field will be delivered by the Quality and Market Standards Team via live webinar for the contractor network and will also be recorded for future reference. Two topic areas will be covered: fire hazards and indoor air quality. The session will run about one hour and have a Q&A session at the end. The webinar is scheduled Tuesday January 20, 2026, from 8:30 am – 10:00am. Register here.

Program/s: EmPower+
To: Participating Contractors, Clean Energy Hubs and Stakeholders
Summary: The Energy Affordability Guarantee Pilot
Contact with Questions: Please reach out to Contractor Support at 1-800-284-9069 with any questions

The Energy Affordability Guarantee is a pilot program administered by the NYS Department of Public Service (DPS). It was developed as a complement to EmPower+ to ensure that homes that have been electrified through the EmPower+ program will not pay more than 6% of their annual income towards electricity costs. DPS will measure monthly electric consumption and apply a utility bill credit if the households experience an energy burden (electricity) of greater than 6% in each month.

The Pilot has a goal of serving approximately 100 homes in each major utility territory. Municipal electric customers will be unable participate in this Pilot. Homes that have had projects completed after 5/1/23 and have both a Heat Pump for space heating and Heat Pump Water Heater will be eligible. NYSERDA is seeking to increase the numbers of heat pump installations in certain utility areas.

The Energy Affordability Guarantee was introduced during the NYSERDA Home Modernization Monthly Contractor Webinar held on July 11th, 2025. Links to the webinar recording, slides, and other program documents are located below.

Resources
EAG Pilot Reservation Form
EAG Pilot Frequently Asked Questions
NYSERDA Home Modernization Monthly Webinar – 07/11/2025 – Watch Now
NYSERDA Home Modernization Monthly Webinar – 07/11/2025 – Presentation File 

EAG Pilot Tracker

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