Program Announcements for July 2026

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

June

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

Webinar number: 2537 348 0309
Password: Energy1

July

NYSERDA Home Modernization Monthly Contractor Webinar
Friday, August 7, 2026  
8:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. ET

Webinar number: 2531 150 2275
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 for the series, please click here.

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

Program/s: EmPower+  
To: Participating Contractors  
Summary: Residential Email Inbox Reminder 
Questions: If there are any questions please email support.residential@nyserda.ny.gov  

This is a reminder that the empower.residential@nyserda.ny.gov and applications.residential@nyserda.ny.gov inboxes have been retired and are not monitored by program staff. Please remove these addresses from your contacts.  Application related inquiries should be sent to info.residential@nyserda.ny.gov and project related inquiries to support.residential@nyserda.ny.gov.  

Program/s: EmPower+
To: Participating Contractors
Summary: Federal Program Rule Changes
Questions: If there are any questions email support.residential@nyserda.ny.gov  

NYSERDA is carefully reviewing the federal actions that impact our work. The EmPower+ team will provide updates regarding any changes to the program as soon as they become available.

Program/s: EmPower+
To: Participating Contractors
Summary: Correct Project Type Selection in NYHEP
Contact with Questions: If there are any questions please email support.residential@nyserda.ny.gov

Effective August 31, 2026, contractors will be required to select the correct Project Type (Full Comprehensive, Audit Install) in NYHEP that aligns with the work being performed in the home. NYHEP will be enforcing this requirement at Final Project Submission based on the measures selected.

Enrollments with a Full Comprehensive selected for the Project Type with only assessment and direct install measures completed will need to be rolled backed to Workscope Submission and updated.

How to Return an Enrollment from Final Project Submission to Workscope Submission

At Final Project Submission at the top select Outcome = Cancel and Reason = Modify workscope submission. Click Save and Process the enrollment back to Workscope Submission.

How to Adjust Proposed Measures

Project Type selection is adjusted at Workscope Submission >> Applicant Information tab >> Additional Applicant Information section. Select Project Type = Audit Install. The list of measures available adjusts based on the selection.

• On the Measures tab, all proposed Full Comprehensive measures will need to be adjusted to a Quantity = 0.
• Click on Add Measures and select the completed assessment and direct install measures. The Audit Install measures will end in “_AI”. Upon resubmission, the project will advance directly to Final Project Review.

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

Program/s: EmPower+, Comfort Home
To: All NYHEP and NYSERDA System Users
Summary: Unauthorized Use of NYHEP and NYSERDA Systems
Questions: If there are any questions, please contact Contractor Support 

As a reminder the use of automated software tools designed to access NYSERDA systems, including NYHEP is not permitted.  Unauthorized use or attempted unauthorized use of the system is not allowed and may constitute a crime.  Such use may subject you to appropriate disciplinary action and/or criminal prosecution.  

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

Program/s: All NYSERDA Residential Programs
To: All Participating Contractors
Summary: Home Modernization AI Reminder
Contact with Questions: Osama.Sehgol@nyserda.ny.gov or Rebecca.Gagnon@nyserda.ny.gov

This announcement serves as a reminder on NYSERDA’s policies for all contractors doing business with NYSERDA.  In May 2024, NYSERDA updated the Program Manual to explicitly incorporate the following language in Section 3.11 of the Participation Agreement:

“(T)he Participating Contractor must follow the policies and procedures found on the Doing Business with NYSERDA webpage at https://www.nyserda.ny.gov/About/Doing-Business-with-NYSERDA, as amended and superseded.”

The Doing Business with NYSERDA webpage contains numerous policies contractors are required to comply with including a policy on Artificial Intelligence (AI) Systems Acceptable Use. 

The AI section of the “Doing Business with NYSERDA page states:

AI Systems may be in the form of software, an application, a website, or a feature.

NYSERDA Vendors¹ are responsible for using approved AI Systems in a productive, ethical, and lawful manner consistent with the ITS Acceptable Use of Artificial Intelligence Technologies Policy and NYSERDA’s Guidelines to mitigate the risk of misuse, unethical outcomes, intentional or inadvertent use of previously copyrighted works, potential biases, inaccuracy, and information security compromises.

Approval must be expressly granted to use any AI Systems by any NYSERDA Vendor for any purpose whatsoever related to their work at NYSERDA or for any reason where employee, contractor or customer information is entered into AI Systems, unless the specific AI use case is pre-approved on NYSERDA’s internal AI Inventory. Please work with your assigned NYSERDA Project Manager to seek approval to use an AI System for conducting NYSERDA business.

Any NYSERDA Proposer² who submit materials to NYSERDA that are created with the assistance of AI, must disclose such use to NYSERDA.

Vendors are expected to understand, abide by, and enforce the following provisions:

1. Include a disclosure identifying the use of AI on all materials created with the assistance of AI.
2. Operate only within the approved scope of activities and purposes authorized by ITS and NYSERDA.
3. Adhere to all NYSERDA policies on the use of information, and not enter any NYSERDA, employee, customer, third-party confidential, trade secret, or other personal or proprietary information into a prompt for an AI System unless authorized to do so as detailed above.
   1. If the AI System will interact with personal information, NYSERDA may be required to notify the person and, in some jurisdictions, obtain permission from the person to use their personal information. This will be determined as part of the Risk and Privacy Assessment process
   2. If the AI System will interact with or produce confidential or trade secret information, the use of this information must be reviewed and approved as part of the Information Asset Identification Worksheet and the Risk and Privacy Assessment process.
4. AI may not be used to develop, generate, or disseminate offensive, discriminatory, inappropriate, or any other content that runs contrary to NYSERDA’s policies, procedures, mission, and goals, including hallucinations³ and deepfakes⁴ as determined by NYSERDA.
5. Thoroughly review all AI System outputs (human oversight) before using them or forwarding them to others inside or outside NYSERDA to:
   1. ensure the content is factual and accurate
   2. ensure that they do not contain biased, offensive, or discriminatory content; and
   3. ensure they do not improperly use or disclose personal or confidential information.
6. Ensure that the use of the AI System is fair and equitable to all. Systemic computational, and human biases should be identified and remedied.
7. Ensure that the AI System and any output using AI is explainable and understandable to any user or recipient of information.
8. Verify accuracy of reported facts with other trusted, non-AI sources of information.
9. Ensure that decisions that impact the public are not made without oversight by appropriate staff, who make the final decisions. This includes, but is not limited to publishing or sharing content generated with AI assistance without internal approval to do so from Business Unit Lead (BUL) Management, and Corporate Communications, Marketing, Events Management, Social Media, and Legal as appropriate.
10. An AI System cannot be used to automate final decisions.
11. Not violate the acceptable use restrictions provided in the ITS AI Policy.

¹ “NYSERDA Vendor” refers to any contractor, consultant, Vendor.

² “NYSERDA Proposer” refers to any person who submits materials to NYSERDA

³ Hallucinations – a feature of large language models used to describe an output which may initially appear to be believable, but which is factually incorrect.

⁴ an image or recording that has been convincingly altered and manipulated to misrepresent someone as doing or saying something that was not actually done or said

For questions on NYSERDA’’s AI policy please contact Osama Sehgol Osama.Sehgol@nyserda.ny.gov or Becky Gagnon  Rebecca.Gagnon@nyserda.ny.gov .