Program Announcements from 4/23/2026 to 5/13/2026

Program/s: All Programs
To: Contractors and Stakeholders
Summary: NYSERDA Residential Market Advisory Group Quarterly Meeting
Questions: Tamar.nagle@nyserda.ny.gov

Join us on May 7th for our next NYSERDA Residential Market Advisory Group quarterly meeting.

In our second meeting in 2026 we will provide updates on NYSERDA residential projects and discuss your priorities for the residential clean energy market in New York State.

Date: Thursday, May 7, 2026
Time: 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. ET
Location: Register for Virtual Meeting

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, May 1, 2026
8:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. ET

Webinar number: 2535 848 7415
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+ Participating Contractors
Summary: Quarterly Certification Audit – Find-A-Contractor Site
Questions: Elizabeth.Lazarou@nyserda.ny.gov

To ensure our records are current, we are conducting a quarterly review of EmPower+ Participating Contractor certifications. We ask that you take a moment to review your information on the EmPower+ site on behalf of your company, and respond with any changes by May 14th.

Per Section 5.5 of the Program Manual:

“The participating contractor shall provide NYSERDA written documentation identifying each certified individual and copies of their certifications. This is inclusive of staff who will be onsite in a customer’s home and not office staff or other support staff not at project locations. As an ongoing requirement, the participating contractor shall immediately inform the Program of any change to the list of certified staff.”

If there are any questions or if you need to provide updated certification information, please contact Elizabeth.Lazarou@nyserda.ny.gov. 

Program/s: EmPower+
To: EmPower+ Contractors
Summary: Service Territory Update
Questions: If there are any questions, please contact Contractor Support

Since April 2025, contractors have been limited to serving the North Country, Capital, Hudson Valley, and New York City Regions. Effective immediately, the territory restrictions for new and existing contractors are being lifted. Contractors can now request to add any territory, but they will be required to provide a business plan illustrating how they plan to serve the requested territory.

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

Program/s: EmPower+
To: EmPower+ Contractors
Summary: HERR Benefit and NFG No-Heat Program Closure
Questions: If there are any questions, please contact Contractor Support

As of April 10, 2026, the 2025-26 Heating Equipment Repair and Replacement (HERR) benefit has closed. Additionally, on April 17, 2026, National Fuel Gas (NFG) ended their No Heat Program. Customers can receive services through Empower+ by providing the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) denial letter.

NYSERDA’s No-Heat season will still end May 31, 2026, or when funds are exhausted, whichever comes first. The funding tracker is located on the No-Heat Resources page of the Contractor Support site.

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

Program/s: EmPower+
To: EmPower+ Contractors
Summary: UPDATED – Rental Property Energy Efficiency Services Agreement 
Questions: If there are any questions, please contact Contractor Support

An updated version of the Rental Property Energy Efficiency Services Agreement was published to Contractor Support Site on April 1, 2026. The current version can be located here. The updates include clearer language regarding penalties for the default of the agreement per the below:

“Upon default of this Agreement, NYSERDA will be entitled to a refund from the Owner of all monies paid hereunder.  Additionally, NYSERDA will require the disclosure of the Tenants’ name and contact information and the payment of a mandatory legal penalty in an amount not to exceed two times the amount of funding received through the applicable program. NYSERDA will distribute these funds among the tenant’s pro rata which the tenants can use for attorney’s fees or other mitigative measures. If NYSERDA is unable to recover these funds via a demand letter, State Law authorizes NYSERDA to refer collection matters to the Attorney General. See Exec. L. 1; Public Authorities Law § 1858.”

Signed copies of the previous version of the agreement will be accepted through May 30, 2026.  Please start using the current version of the agreement effective immediately.

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

Program/s: EmPower+
To: EmPower+ Contractors
Summary: 2025-26 Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) Emergency Component Closing Date
Questions: HEAP Bureau (518) 473-0332 or NYSHEAP@otda.ny.gov

Section 2 – Purpose

The announcement below is being sent on behalf of OTDA:

The 2025-2026 HEAP Emergency component will operate through the close of business (COB), Friday, April 24, 2026. Mail-in applications postmarked on or before the closing date meet the deadline and must be processed.

In accordance with instructions found in 26-LCM-02, 25DC093, and the NYS HEAP Manual, applications for Emergency benefits received after the closing date in Rest of State (ROS) must be denied using CNS denial code F08 (HEAP Application Received after HEAP Program Year Closing Date) or, if needed, by using the HEAP Notice of Eligibility Decision – Denial (LDSS-3494B). Emergency applications received after the closing date in New York City (NYC) must be denied using the appropriate local equivalent denial code.

Section 3 – Meeting Energy Emergencies Through Public Assistance (PA)

Households with an emergency or immediate need who are not eligible for assistance through HEAP, either because they applied and were determined ineligible or because the appropriate component is not open, should be referred to PA as per regular district procedures. Assistance for households with a utility emergency may be met year-round if the household is found eligible for such assistance. Non-utility (oil, kerosene, propane, wood, and other fuels besides natural gas or electricity) fuel emergencies may also be referred to PA, however emergency assistance through PA is only available for non-utility fuel emergencies during each district’s cold weather period.

Detailed information on processing PA requests for energy emergencies is outlined in 25DC067. The Emergency Energy Assistance Desk Guide (LDSS-4884) is available to assist in handling energy emergencies. This resource summarizes how both utility and non-utility energy emergencies must be handled for different household types.

Section 4 – Additional Guidance for Districts

Districts must continue to submit their HEAP Pending Case Report in eReports on a weekly basis, as outlined in 26-LCM-02.

This information should be shared with alternate certifiers. Questions can be addressed with each district’s HEAP Bureau liaison.

Program/s: EmPower+
To: EmPower+ Contractors
Summary: EmPower+ incentives for PSEG customers
Questions: If there are any questions, please contact Contractor Support

Starting May 18, 2026, the total amount of incentives received from PSEG Home Comfort and Home Performance programs for Low- and Moderate-income customers will be deducted from the EmPower+ downstate incentive caps of $14,000 for low-income households and $7,000 for moderate income households.

When proposing a project for PSEG customers, the contractor will be required to supply the awards letter or letters for the Home Comfort and Home Performance Programs when submitting documents to NYHEP. The contractor should also include the PSEG incentive amounts in the utility section of the individual measure. NYHEP will then deduct these amounts from the possible incentive. This deduction in incentive will not affect the $14,000 IRA project cap. The contractor support site will have a copy of an April 3 webinar detailing how these incentives will be applied.

On April 21st there was a joint PSEG/NYSERDA webinar to review the new program rules and answer questions

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

Program/s: EmPower+
To: EmPower+ Contractors
Summary: EmPower+ Eligible Measures
Questions: If there are any questions, please contact Contractor Support

The Low- to Moderate-Income (LMI) Energy Efficiency and Beneficial Electrification (EE/BE) Order was issued by the Public Service Commission in May 2025. This order covers funding for NYSERDA’s LMI single and multifamily programs for 2026-2030.  As part of the order, there were changes included to the New York State Technical Resource Manual (TRM) impacting certain EmPower+ measures. Savings for loan only measures will continue to count towards Project Level Cost Effectiveness (PLCE). 

Below are the changes impacting EmPower+ Measures

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

Program/s: Comfort Home
To: All Comfort Home Contractors
Summary: Cancelling the Install Started Step for Audit-Only Projects       
Contact with Questions: If there are any questions, please contact Contractor Support.

In NYHEP, approved assessments trigger an “Install Started” step by default. For audit-only projects, to clear the enrollment from your queue, this step must be manually cancelled.

To have the Install Started workflow step canceled, send an email to support.residential@nyserda.ny.gov with the enrollment number and “Please cancel the Install Started”.

You can also reach out to Contractor Support at 800-284-9069

Program: GJGNY Residential Financing
To: Participating Contractors
Summary: Updated GJGNY Residential Financing Program Manual and Eligible Measures
Questions: Contact Customer Support residential.financing@nyserda.ny.gov.

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) will be launching an updated Residential Financing Program Manual and Eligible Measures List to support the Green Jobs – Green New York (GJGNY) Residential Financing Program on April 30, 2026. The manual provides participating contractors with information about the program and the process for offering GJGNY Loans to customers. The list is a general guide to measures eligible for GJGNY financing.

The updated manual and list can be found on the Resources for Participating Contractors webpage.

If you have any questions about the program or these changes, please reach out to residential.financing@nyserda.ny.gov.

Thank you for your continued support and cooperation in making the GJGNY Residential Financing Program a success.

Sincerely, 

The Residential Financing Team

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

To all contractors participating in the Comfort Home and EmPower+ programs,

This email 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 .

Program/s: All NYSERDA Residential Programs
To: Participating Contractors
Summary: Funding through NYSERDA’s On-the-Job Training Program
Contact with Questions:  PONOJT@nyserda.ny.gov

NYSERDA’s On-the-Job Training Program (PON 3982), updated earlier this year, is accepting new applications. Businesses can receive wage subsidies to reduce the financial risk of hiring and training new workers and earn incentives for industry certifications their new hire earns.

Funding of up to $11,000 per new hire is available when hiring residents of disadvantaged communities, as defined by the New York Climate Justice Working Group, or members of priority populations. Funding of up to $8,500 per new hire is available for hiring other eligible individuals. A summary of revisions outlining changes from the prior version of the On-the-Job Training Program can be found on the solicitation page.

For more information about the On-the-Job Training Program, please visit NYSERDA’s webpage.

Questions about the On-the-Job Program requirements or steps to participate? NYSERDA holds monthly virtual office hours for program participants and those interested in learning more about the program.

Office Hours: Third Thursday of each month, 2:00-3:00 PM ET. Register: https://forms.office.com/g/0vW7FChZtK