Program Announcements from 11/13/2025 to 11/27/2025

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, December 5, 2025
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.

Program/s: EmPower+ and Comfort Home
To: Participating Contractors 
Summary: Staff Hours for Thanksgiving 
Contact with Questions: See below 

NYSERDA wishes you and your family a happy and safe Thanksgiving. Please see below for EmPower+ and Comfort Home program staff and implementation staff hours for the Thanksgiving Holiday. 

NYSERDA: Closed Thursday, limited staffing Friday 

CLEAResult: Closed Thursday and Friday 

TRC Call Center: Closed Thursday, open Friday, EmPower+ Application Processing Closed Thursday and Friday 

Participating Contractors working in the field in need of emergency approval may contact Katie Anderson (518-207-4544) on Thursday, November 27th and John Calarco (631-590-5719) on Friday, November 28th. For non-urgent matters, contact Contractor Support or (800) 284-9069; requests will be returned following the holiday in the order they were received. 

The 1-866-NYSERDA /1-877-NYSMART number will not be staffed on Thursday, November 27, but will be open for regular hours on Friday November 28. 

With the holiday, there will only be one EmPower+ incentive invoice processed during the week of November 24. Incentive invoicing processing will return to twice per week beginning the week of December 1.  Comfort Home will process a weekly invoice on Wednesday, November 26 as usual.

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

The following updates were covered during the November Home Modernization Monthly Contractor Call and can be accessed here. These have also been updated in Section 5.15 of the Program Manual.

The asbestos remediation and lead and radon abatement have been discontinued as an EmPower+ eligible measure. Discontinued measures include:

• Asbestos Abatement – ASAB
• Lead Abatement – ABLD
• Radon Abatement – RAAB

Effective December 1, 2025, the Mold/Mildew measure will be capped at $2,000 for enrollments submitted to the Workscope Review step in NYHEP for the first time. This update applies to both Tier 1 and Tier 3 enrollments.

If there are any questions, please reach out to Contractor Support at 1-800-284-9069.

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 either be a HPWH or electrical resistance if the electrical resistance heater was already present.​
• 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.

Program/s: Residential Energy Assessment Program
To: REA Contractors
Summary: REA Program Sunset and Final Submission Dates
Contact with Questions:  homeaudits@nyserda.ny.gov

As mentioned during the April 2025 Residential Program Update Meeting, NYSERDA will be launching a Virtual Energy Assessment Program in the fourth quarter of 2025 and will be replacing the Residential Energy Assessment (REA) program. The final day to submit an REA enrollment in NYHEP will be Thurs. Dec. 18, 2025.    

We encourage all REA contractors to familiarize themselves with the Comfort Home Program as it will serve as the primary market rate program for assessments and incentives.​ By Q4 of 2025 all or most market rate audits should be completed through Comfort Home.  Please refer to this link for information on becoming a participating Comfort Home Contractor.  

Contractors should review their websites and other marketing material over the next few months to either remove the REA program or replace it with information related to Comfort Home, if applicable.  

All Comfort Home and EmPower+ audits completed through NYHEP will comply with GJGNY requirements and provide the necessary data needed for GJGNY loan applications.​  

The REA NYHEP portal will remain open for participating contractors to access their existing customer information.  In addition, the portal will also remain open if contractors need access to the Loan Proforma report for loan only projects.  A user guide for market rate loan use cases will be available in a future Program Announcement. 

For additional information about the Virtual Energy Assessment Program or the sunset of the REA program, please email homeaudits@nyserda.ny.gov.  

For additional information about the Comfort Home Program, please email support.residential@nyserda.ny.gov.​  

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