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:
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.
To: Everyone Regarding Programs: General Summary: The New York State Department of Labor’s new Virtual Career Center can help you search for qualified job candidates free of charge. Contact:Department of Labor’s Virtual Career Center for Businesses
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.
To: EmPower+ Contractors Regarding Programs: EmPower+ Summary: EmPower+ Geo-eligibility Ending Contact: Additional information will be provided in upcoming Program Announcements and on the February 2nd Contractor Webinar
Effective February 1, 2024, geo-eligibility will no longer be an option for determining EmPower+ income eligibility. Certain funding sources that support EmPower+ do not allow for geo-eligibility as an option for income verification. Below are estimated dates for the transition away from geo-eligibility:
Now through January 31, 2024- Program will continue to approve EmPower+ applications where the household was determined through geo-eligibility to be income-eligible.
February 1, 2024- geo-eligibility will be shut down in the online application and on the EmPower+ Application web page. References to geo-eligibility will be removed from EmPower+ web pages and program documentation.
Households that have been determined to be geo-eligible prior to the shut off will have until April 15, 2024, to have work completed. After the shut off of geo-eligibility, contractors will be given a list of customers who qualified with geo-eligibility.
April 15, 2024- Any EmPower+ project where the household was determined eligible by geo-eligibility will need to be completed and closed out. Projects that are not completed at this time will be closed by CLEAResult. When the customer reapplies, a new enrollment will be created for them. Contractors can enter the information from the previous enrollment into the new enrollment.
Households determined to be eligible for EmPower+ through geo-eligibility will be sent an email and letter from NYSERDA. They will be informed them that their project must be completed no later than April 15, 2024, or they will need to reapply to the program.
This change is only applicable to geo-eligibility in EmPower+; it does not impact the geo-eligibility determination for interest rates through NYSERDA’s Residential Loan Fund.
To: Participating Contractors Regarding Programs: EmPower+ Summary: Holiday Impacts on EmPower+ Program Contact: Reach out to your Account Manager
NYSERDA wishes you and your family a happy and safe holiday season. Please see below for EmPower+ program staff and implementation staff hours for the end of December and beginning of January.
CLOSURES:
Monday, December 25: NYSERDA & CLEAResult
Tuesday, December 26: CLEAResult
Monday, January 1: NYSERDA & CLEAResult
EmPower+
INVOICES:
CLEAResult will submit two invoices to NYSERDA the week of the 24th with payments expected to be dispersed within 2-3 days.
Wednesday, December 27 with an estimated payment by Jan 2
Thursday, December 28 an estimated payment by Jan 3
Participating contractors working in the field in need of an emergency approval may contact Michael Downing – 774-314-2220 on Monday, 12/25, Brendon Fox – 518-207-4512 on Tuesday, 12/26 and Pete Hoke – 518-207-4534 on Monday, 1/1. The Tech Services team also includes information in their autoreply and voicemail messages directing contractors on who to go to if they have an emergency or to reach out to contractor support for non-emergency matters and someone will get back to them after the holidays. If there is an emergency that requires assistance from Shared Services, please contact Lindsay Huba-Zhang at 518-598-3573, otherwise non-emergency matters will be responded to after the holiday.
To: EmPower+ Contractors Regarding Programs: EmPower+ Summary: EmPower+ Customer Acceptance Contact:Please reach out to Contractor Support at 800-284-9069
In September, the EmPower+ program announced an extension to the time contractors have to accept customers in the New York Home Energy Portal (NYHEP) to 15 calendar days with one 5 business day extension. Effective January 1, 2024, this process reverted back to the original timeline.
Initial Contractor Assignment- Contractor has 5 business days to accept the Enrollment and can request a one-time, 5 business day extension.
In early 2024, NYHEP will be enhanced to semi-automate assignments to reduce project acceptance wait times and improve the customer experience. . When this automation is rolled-out, the assignment timeline will be updated as follows:
Initial Contractor Assignment- Contractor has 5 business days to accept the Enrollment and can request a one-time, 5-business day extension.
Second Contractor Assignment-If the initial Contractor does not accept the Enrollment within the initial 5 day w/5 day extension period or rejects it, the Enrollment will be auto-assigned to a second Contractor who will have 5 business days to accept the Enrollment. No extensions will be granted to the second contractor.
Third Contractor Assignment- If the second Contractor does not accept the Enrollment within 5 business days, the Enrollment will get auto-assigned to a third Contractor who will have 5 business days to accept the Enrollment. No extensions will be granted to the third contractor.
Final Contractor Assignment- If the third Contractor fails to accept the Enrollment, it will get sent to a manual assignment queue where the implementor will work with a Contractor to get the customer accepted.
It is imperative for Contractors to routinely check their customer assignment queues. If you know you cannot serve a particular household, then decline the assignment in a timely manner so the customer can get assigned to another Contractor. This will help maintain a positive customer experience.
If there are any questions, please contact Customer Support at 800-284-9069.