Program Announcements from 2/26/2026 to 3/11/2026

Program/s: Home Modernization
To: EmPower+ Contractors
Summary: Air to Water Heat Pump Summit and Trade Show
Contact with Questions:  Efficiency Vermont 1-(888)-921-5990

Air to Water Heat Pump Summit and Trade Show
March 4, 2026, 8:00 a.m. – 7:30 p.m. ET
Format: In-Person
Location: Vermont Construction Academy, 276 E. Allen St. Winooski, Vermont, 05404
Cost: $149
Link: Here

Highlights:

• Technical training on air to water heat pump applications, hydronic system design, integration with existing hydronic and forced air distribution systems, distribution design, and more.
• Panel discussion with VT HVAC contractors who have been designing and installing air to water systems
• Manufacturer presentations and equipment demonstration

Program/s: EmPower+, Virtual 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, March 6, 2026
8:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. ET

Webinar number: 2532 615 6287
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.

Program/s: EmPower+
To: EmPower+ Contractors Using Campaign Codes
Summary: Updated Campaign Code URLs Available
Contact with Questions: If there are any questions, please contact Contractor Support

Over the weekend, an update to Salesforce caused existing Campaign Code URLs to be changed.  If your company is using previously generated campaign codes, you will need to replace them with the updated URL that is located in the ‘Generate Campaign’ tab in contractor user’s Salesforce accounts. The new campaign code prompts customers to register to the MyEnergy Portal, and the contractor should be automatically populated on the application.

If there are any questions please reach out to Contractor Support at support.residential@nyserda.ny.gov or (800)-284-9069.

Programs: EmPower+
To: Participating Contractors; Clean Energy Hubs
Summary: Efficiency & Building Electrification (EE/BE) Order Changes
Questions: If there are any questions, please contact Contractor Support

The Low-to-Moderate Income (LMI) Energy Efficiency / Beneficial Electrification Order was issued by the Public Service Commission in May 2025. This order covers funding for NYSERDA’s LMI single and multifamily programs for 2026 through 2030.  

Both the Order, and additional program enhancements directed by NYSERDA, call for significant updates to the EmPower+ program to improve delivery, strengthen customer outcomes, and better align with statewide electrification and affordability goals.

NYSERDA will implement these changes through a phased rollout across 2026.

The first tranche of updates is scheduled to launch on March 18, 2026, and will include the following:

Contractor Application Submissions ​

Starting on March 18, 2026, participating contractors will be able to submit applications, through the MyEnergy portal, on behalf of customers who can provide categorical income verification. The acceptable categorical income verification types include:

• HEAP (Home Energy Assistance Program) ​
• SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program/Food Stamps)/SNAP NYC ​
• SSI (Supplemental Security Income)- (this is different from Social Security Retirement or Disability benefits which are used as income sources for Standard Eligibility)​
• TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) ​
• Weatherization Assistance Program ​
• Public Assistance

Training in MyEnergy for contractors will take place: 

• ​Session 1 – February 25th – 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
• Session 2 – March 11th – 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.  ​
• Session 3 – March 18th – 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
• Session 4 – March 25th – 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.  ​

1. Application Prioritization

The EE/BE Order directs the EmPower+ program to prioritize customer segments with the greatest energy burden and need. To ensure program resources are deployed in a way that provides most meaningful impact, applications from these priority customer types will receive preference during periods of elevated application volume. This approach supports equitable access to benefits while maintaining a steady and sustainable project pipeline.

• Referrals from utilities of customers participating in Energy Assistance Programs ​
• Customers in geographic Disadvantaged Communities (DACs)
• Customers with high energy cost burden ​
• Customers in areas that have been historically underserved by the program (currently identified as the Capital District, Hudson Valley, New York City, North Country with the list to be updated pending on-going market analysis)

2. Income Eligibility Changes for Low-Income Households

The EE/BE Order requires EmPower+ to use 60% Area Median Income or  State Median Income, whichever is greater, for determining low-income eligibility. This differs from the current process, which relies solely on State Median Income figures. The EmPower+ program will update the income qualification tables with these new numbers and TRC will use the updated tables for program qualification beginning March 18, 2026. ​

If a customer who has previously applied in the last 12 months and was classified as moderate-income is now eligible as low-income, their contractor can request that TRC re-review the application. If they qualify as low-income under the new rules, a new project will need to be created in NYHEP when the application is revised.​

As part of the income table updates, EmPower+ has also incorporated the updated HEAP numbers for 2025-2026.

3. Project Incentive Cap Increases for Upstate and Downstate ​

EmPower+ incentive caps will be increased for both low and moderate-income households and will be delineated by upstate and downstate regions. In addition,  EmPower+ will use the customer’s address rather than the contractor’s address to determine if a project is eligible for upstate or downstate pricing and incentives.

Downstate addresses will include households in the counties south of and including Dutchess and Ulster Counties.  Below are the updated low and moderate-income project level incentive caps by household type and location:

4. Moderate-Income Cost Share

The EmPower+ program will reinstate the 50% project level incentive cap for moderate-income households. EmPower+ will provide an incentive covering up to 50% of the cost of eligible measures, up to the applicable project caps.

Beginning March 18, 2026, for moderate -income eligible projects submitted to the program that do not yet have a submitted work scope, the customer will be required to cover the remaining balance of the project, either out of pocket, using other available grants, or through NYSERDA’s Residential Financing programs.

Moderate-income incentive caps will change to $6,000 for upstate customers and $7,000 for downstate customers. In addition, Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates (HEAR) funds can be layered on top of this amount of funding. ​

• Example: The only eligible measure in the project is air sealing with a cost of $4,000. ​
  • Total cost: $4,000 ​
  • Base EmPower+ incentive is $2,000 (50% of $4,000) ​
  • HEAR incentive is $1,600 ​
  • Total possible incentive is $3,600.

5. LED Light Bulb Eligibility ​

The EE/BE Order classified light bulbs as a non-strategic measure that may continue in limited applications through 2027; however, they will be phased out afterwards. Beginning March 18, 2026, eligibility for direct install LED lighting will be limited to the following applications: ​

• Replacement of existing in-service incandescent lightbulbs with LEDs, AND ​
• As part of a comprehensive project where lighting is under 5% of the total project cost. 

6. Heat Pump Water Heater Incentive Changes ​

Effective February 6, 2026, EmPower+ will be using funds, secured through Governor Hochul’s  Sustainable Futures Program, to incentivize Heat Pump Water Heaters (HPWH).​

• Maximum incentive for HPWHs will be: ​
  • 100% of the project up to $5,000 for Low-Income (Tier 1) ​
  • 50% of the project up to $2,500 for Moderate-Income (Tier 3) ​
• This incentive will include all electrical upgrades associated with the HPWH including:​
  • A new breaker, running a new electrical line, and other associated costs.​
• Contractors will need to include these costs in the measure. ​
• Contractors should not use the HEAR electrical upgrade measure for HPWH associated costs. ​
• The HEAR electrical service panel box upgrade measure will still be eligible when installing a HPWH.

7. Insulation Requirements for Heat Pump Projects ​

The below table represents the updated minimum insulation requirements a residence must meet prior to the installation of a heat pump through EmPower+. These updated envelope requirements are for work scopes submitted to the program beginning March 18, 2026.

8. Updated Project Photo Requirements

To shorten project review times and standardize document submissions, EmPower+ will be launching new photo templates for:​

• Assessment/Workscope Submission​
• Final Project Submission​

Starting March 18, 2026, contractors will be expected to use the new submission templates or use a product that can arrange photographs in the same order as the templates.

A photo reference document will also be available for each measure. This document will enable users to readily identify photo needs when proposing measures. ​

We do want to remind contractors that IRA funding requires clear pictures of the make and models tags of the installed units. We will be reviewing these photos more closely to ensure that the information on them is legible. ​

NYSERDA is continuing to pursue a contract with CompanyCam to provide licenses for CompanyCam for all participating contractors. 

9. Smart Power Strips

Based on findings from a recent evaluation study, the program will be ending smart power strips as a measure on March 18, 2026.​

• If they have been added to a work scope that has been submitted, it can move forward as a measure, but they will no longer be available to be added to new work scopes.

10. Updated EmPower+ Pricing

As part of the EmPower+ yearly cycle, the program will update utility rates used in project level cost effectiveness calculations and EmPower+ measure pricing schedules during the Q1 changes to the NYHEP system. ​These rates will be effective as part of the March 18, 2026 updates.

The above program changes were covered in the February 6, 2026, Contractor Check-In webinar which can be found on the contractor support site.  Between now and the launch of these program changes, program staff will be making updates to the program manual, income charts, and NYSERDA webpages. If there are any questions on these upcoming program changes, please reach out to contractor support at support.residential@nyserda.ny.gov or (800)-284-9069.

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 (EAG) is a Pilot being run by the New York State Department of Public Service (DPS) that will provide homes that have been, or will be, electrified through the EmPower+ Program with a utility bill subsidy to ensure the homes energy burden is not greater than 6%.​

The goal for the Pilot is to serve at least 100 EmPower+ Tier 1 (Low-Income) households in each of the utility areas. Based on current program production, additional projects are needed in the following areas:

• Central Hudson
• Consolidated Edison
• Orange and Rockland
• Rochester Gas and Electric

Homes that have had projects completed on or after May 1, 2023, will be eligible. ​

Pilot Guidelines

• Only homes in the following electric territories will be eligible: Central Hudson, Consolidated Edison, Orange and Rockland, and Rochester Gas and Electric.
• Households with Municipal Electric are not eligible.
• This pilot is only available to Tier 1 / low-income customers.​
• Homes that are served by all fuel sources (including natural gas) will be eligible. ​
• The maximum allowable ACH50 for homes will be increased to 10.​
• The home’s existing heating systems must be removed, and the heat pump should be sized to cover the full heating load. 
• The water heating system must be a HPWH.
• Projects participating in the pilot will have priority at provisional approval.​
• Contractor may return to a home that has a heat pump installed to install a HPWH, to qualify for the pilot.​
• Homes will have energy monitors installed on the electrical panel boxes.​

Pilot Process for New EmPower+ Projects

1. A Pilot application will be available on the contractor support site. This application must be filled out and submitted to Matt Houle matthew.houle@nyserda.ny.gov . Matt will review the application to ensure it meets program requirements and notify the contractor that they can proceed to submit the work scope. ​
2. CLEAResult will identify the project in NYHEP as eligible for the pilot.​
3. The work scope will be submitted per the normal EmPower+ Program processes and given priority at provisional approval.​
4. After the project is complete, NYSERDA will provide the data for the project to the Implementation Contractor at DPS so they can contact and enroll the customer.​
5. NYSERDA will be hiring a contractor to supervise the installation of energy monitors. ​
6. NYSERDA will provide a tracker on the contractor support site indicating how many projects will be eligible in each utility territory.​
7. The information from this pilot will be used to determine future utility bill subsidies and the viability of a gas to heat pump conversions in certain markets. ​
8. The goal of the pilot is to have the remaining projects completed by December 31, 2025. 

The EAG Pilot was covered on the July 11, 2025, Home Modernization Monthly Contractor Call. If there are any questions, please reach out to Contractor Support at 1-800-284-9069.

Programs: Comfort Home
To: All Comfort Home Contractors
Summary: Air Infiltration Target
Contact with Questions: Keith Bohling

NYSERDA has made a change to its Comfort Home Program to better align other residential retrofit programs. Comfort Home will adopt an air infiltration target of 10 Air Changes per Hour at 50 Pascals (ACH50) or lower for 1-4 family homes, and 12 ACH50 or lower for manufactured homes. 

After running thousands of models and evaluating over 60,000 projects in all climate zones of New York, these air infiltration targets were determined to provide the best balance between installation costs, operating costs, and achievability with New York’s housing stock. 

At the conclusion of a Comfort Home project, the Participating Contractor must verify the home’s infiltration performance.  If the contractor cannot perform a blower door test, the reason must be documented with uploaded geo-tagged photos and they must use NYHEP to estimate the air leakage. 

This change will take effect for installations submitted in NYHEP on or after March 18, 2026.

Program/s:  Green Jobs-Green New York Residential Financing
To:   All Participating Contractors
Summary:  Multi-Factor Authentication for Web ProForma
Contact with Questions:  residential.financing@nyserda.ny.gov

Dear Participating Contractors:

To enhance the security of NYSERDA systems and protect sensitive information, NYSERDA will be implementing Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for Web ProForma user access starting April 1, 2026. 

MFA adds an extra layer of security by requiring users to verify their identity using more than one method, such as a password combined with verification code or approval sent via email, mobile prompt, text message, or authentication app.  This helps reduce the risk of unauthorized access and strengthens our overall cybersecurity posture.

As part of this implementation, each user must have their own individual account associated with a unique email address.  This email address will be used as part of the MFA process to send verification codes. Shared accounts or accounts tied to group or generic email addresses will not be supported under MFA.  Ensuring that each user has a unique account is essential for security, accountability, and successful MFA enrollment.

Users will be provided with guidance and support throughout the process.  We appreciate your cooperation as we take this important step to safeguard NYSERDA’s systems and data.

Questions about these changes may be submitted to residential.financing@nyserda.ny.gov. 

Thank you,

NYSERDA’s Residential Financing Team

No Announcements